A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads

Underground pipes are used for services. Loads emanating from blast can create sufficient tremors to damage substructures over a wide area. Blast loads from explosives translate to loadings which the explosive charge (i. e. from surface blast or underground blast) delivers to the buried structures w...

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Main Author: Olarewaju Akinola Johnson
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/1/24%20PAGES.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/2/FULLTEXT.pdf
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id my-ums-ep.41798
record_format uketd_dc
institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
collection UMS Institutional Repository
language English
English
topic TA630-695 Structural engineering (General)
spellingShingle TA630-695 Structural engineering (General)
Olarewaju Akinola Johnson
A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
description Underground pipes are used for services. Loads emanating from blast can create sufficient tremors to damage substructures over a wide area. Blast loads from explosives translate to loadings which the explosive charge (i. e. from surface blast or underground blast) delivers to the buried structures whether in the form of pressure or loading wave velocity. The main sources of blast are war, accidental explosion from military formation, etc. This study is aimed at determining the response of empty underground pipes due to blast loads by simulation using finite element method. Different types of blast and blast loads ranging from 10 kg TNT to 250 kg TNT were considered in this study. Using Unified Facilities Criteria (2008) for surface blast and analytical method for underground blast for the commonly used explosives at various stand-off points, ground movement parameters were determined. In this study, soil and pipe materials were considered as elastic, homogeneous and isotropic. Geotechnical and material properties as revealed by several researchers and pipe manufacturers were used. After validating existing model studied using SAP-80, response of underground pipes due to various categories of blast were studied using time integration technique in ABAQUS/Explicit, a finite element numerical code. Displacement, pressure, stress, strain at the crown, invert and spring-line of underground pipes buried at different embedment ratios in loose sand, dense sand and undrained clay were computed. Parametric studies were carried out and the results of the various responses were analyzed using dimensional analysis. Various mitigation measures were also suggested. In the whole work, a total of 639 models were analyzed. From the result of this study, blast load parameters estimated could be used in the evaluation of blast loads for design of underground pipes to resist the effects of blast loads. In addition, depths play a prominent role in the response of underground pipes due to blast loads. With increasing depth of burial of pipes, observed parameters reduced. These observed parameters reduced at embedment ratios of 3 to 5 for the blast scenarios considered. In addition to this, the reduction in the observed parameters of the response of underground pipes due to blast loads is more in loose sand compared to dense sand. As a result of this, loose material in the form of tire-chip backfill round the buried pipes could be used to mitigate the consequence of blast loads on underground pipes. Furthermore, undrained clay was observed to be problematic because the reduction in the observed parameters is least in the pipes buried in undrained clay and as a result of this, grouting and ground improvement techniques could be adopted as mitigation measure. In addition, for underground steel pipes to resist the effects of internal explosion, minimum of 20 mm thick is recommended. Finally, coefficient of friction of average of 0.4 could be used for the design of pipes buried in sand while coefficient of friction of average of 0.8 could be used for the design of pipes buried in undrained clay. The findings of this study will contribute to the existing academic literature, locally and internationally, considering the fact that this is a new area of research. The guidelines arrived at in this study can be applied by practicing engineers and professionals for design of underground pipes to resist the effects of blast loads. In addition to this, attention to be given to undrained clay soil that can be problematic in the design of underground pipes is also highlighted. In the case of underground pipes that are already designed and constructed without consideration to the effects of blast loads, mitigation measures pointed in this study will help in reducing the impact of blast loads.
format Thesis
qualification_name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level Doctorate
author Olarewaju Akinola Johnson
author_facet Olarewaju Akinola Johnson
author_sort Olarewaju Akinola Johnson
title A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
title_short A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
title_full A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
title_fullStr A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
title_full_unstemmed A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
title_sort study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads
granting_institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
granting_department Sekolah Kejuruteraan dan Teknologi Maklumat
publishDate 2013
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/1/24%20PAGES.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/2/FULLTEXT.pdf
_version_ 1818611430362972160
spelling my-ums-ep.417982024-12-04T07:13:50Z A study on the response of underground pipes due to blast loads 2013 Olarewaju Akinola Johnson TA630-695 Structural engineering (General) Underground pipes are used for services. Loads emanating from blast can create sufficient tremors to damage substructures over a wide area. Blast loads from explosives translate to loadings which the explosive charge (i. e. from surface blast or underground blast) delivers to the buried structures whether in the form of pressure or loading wave velocity. The main sources of blast are war, accidental explosion from military formation, etc. This study is aimed at determining the response of empty underground pipes due to blast loads by simulation using finite element method. Different types of blast and blast loads ranging from 10 kg TNT to 250 kg TNT were considered in this study. Using Unified Facilities Criteria (2008) for surface blast and analytical method for underground blast for the commonly used explosives at various stand-off points, ground movement parameters were determined. In this study, soil and pipe materials were considered as elastic, homogeneous and isotropic. Geotechnical and material properties as revealed by several researchers and pipe manufacturers were used. After validating existing model studied using SAP-80, response of underground pipes due to various categories of blast were studied using time integration technique in ABAQUS/Explicit, a finite element numerical code. Displacement, pressure, stress, strain at the crown, invert and spring-line of underground pipes buried at different embedment ratios in loose sand, dense sand and undrained clay were computed. Parametric studies were carried out and the results of the various responses were analyzed using dimensional analysis. Various mitigation measures were also suggested. In the whole work, a total of 639 models were analyzed. From the result of this study, blast load parameters estimated could be used in the evaluation of blast loads for design of underground pipes to resist the effects of blast loads. In addition, depths play a prominent role in the response of underground pipes due to blast loads. With increasing depth of burial of pipes, observed parameters reduced. These observed parameters reduced at embedment ratios of 3 to 5 for the blast scenarios considered. In addition to this, the reduction in the observed parameters of the response of underground pipes due to blast loads is more in loose sand compared to dense sand. As a result of this, loose material in the form of tire-chip backfill round the buried pipes could be used to mitigate the consequence of blast loads on underground pipes. Furthermore, undrained clay was observed to be problematic because the reduction in the observed parameters is least in the pipes buried in undrained clay and as a result of this, grouting and ground improvement techniques could be adopted as mitigation measure. In addition, for underground steel pipes to resist the effects of internal explosion, minimum of 20 mm thick is recommended. Finally, coefficient of friction of average of 0.4 could be used for the design of pipes buried in sand while coefficient of friction of average of 0.8 could be used for the design of pipes buried in undrained clay. The findings of this study will contribute to the existing academic literature, locally and internationally, considering the fact that this is a new area of research. The guidelines arrived at in this study can be applied by practicing engineers and professionals for design of underground pipes to resist the effects of blast loads. In addition to this, attention to be given to undrained clay soil that can be problematic in the design of underground pipes is also highlighted. In the case of underground pipes that are already designed and constructed without consideration to the effects of blast loads, mitigation measures pointed in this study will help in reducing the impact of blast loads. 2013 Thesis https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/ https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/1/24%20PAGES.pdf text en public https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41798/2/FULLTEXT.pdf text en validuser dphil doctoral Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sekolah Kejuruteraan dan Teknologi Maklumat