Seismic Response of Buried Submarine Pipelines

Submarine pipelines are many a time buried into a jet-blasted channel in the seabed. Seismic response of such buried pipelines are investigated in this paper. The earthquake is considered as a partially correlated stationary random process characterized by a power spectral density function (PSDF). The cross-spectral density function between two random inputs along the length of the pipe is defined with the help of the local earthquake PSDF, which is the same for all points, and a frequency-dependent, exponentially decaying function (with distance). A lumped-mass model with 2-D beam elements is used to write the equation of motion. Soil resistance to dynamic excitation along the pipe length is obtained in an approximate manner with the help of frequency-independent impedance functions derived from half-space analysis and Mindlin’s static stresses within the soil due to point loads. The responses are obtained by a spectral analysis for horizontal ground motions in two principal directions, which are assumed to coincide with pipe axis and the perpendicular to it. Using the proposed method of analysis, a parametric study is conducted. The results of the study help in understanding the behavior of buried submarine pipelines under seismic forces and its differences from that of the buried pipelines on land.