![]()
Abstract The depletion of natural resources has made it important to secure the supply of gas in the arctic region, which has barely been developed. There has been quite some research done in evaluating the impact of permafrost on pipelines. However, the results of the previous research may not be easily applied to mechanical properties which is changed temperature changing. In the arctic region, pipelines are damaged by thaw settlement, with arctic environment. In order to reduce this pipeline damage, it is essential to analyze the mechanical behaviors of the pipelines, taking thaw settlement into consideration, during their design. In this study, we developed an elasto-plastic finite element model of thaw settlement to analyze the stress and displacement of a pipeline in the arctic region. The developed model utilized the soil material properties based on the depth of the thaw settlement using ABAQUS.
Introduction The transport of petroleum and gas in the arctic region is mostly carried out through pipelines. Currently, large deposits are being developed, along with the construction of pipelines in the biggest petroleum and gas deposits in the arctic region in Russia, and countries around the world are making efforts to transport gas from this extremely cold region. However, because there is still a serious lack of understanding about the arctic region, there is insufficient technical capability for the construction of pipelines there. In particular, a pipeline is required to transport gas from an arctic region such as Alaska or Siberia, and a considerable cost is expected (Alaska Pipeline Project, 2011; Bradshaw, 2010). Thus, it is necessary to minimize the pipeline construction cost. Because the materials and design required for the construction of a pipeline account for a large portion of this cost, many studies are still required on material selection and design. In addition, it is important to construct a pipeline at the minimum cost while still preventing it from being damaged by thaw settlement, which is an important environmental factor in the arctic region (Kim, 2014). Many studies have already been carried out on the ground settlement in a general environment, and studies are actively being carried out on thaw settlement in the arctic area. Kim at al(1998)has carried out stress analysis of buried pipeline, and Lee and Kim(2004) has carried out a study on the effect of ground settlement on the soundness of a buried pipeline.
Site News