Experimental and numerical studies on the behavior of GRP pipes subjected to strike-slip faulting in sandy soils

Alipouriani, Mohammadraouf; TahamouliRoudsari, Mehrzad; MoradiGaroosi, AllahReza; Ghotb, MohammadReza

doi:10.22059/ceij.2026.390223.2247

Experimental and numerical studies on the behavior of GRP pipes subjected to strike-slip faulting in sandy soils

Articles in Press

Authors

mohammadraouf Alipouriani ¹

Mehrzad TahamouliRoudsari ¹

AllahReza MoradiGaroosi ²

MohammadReza Ghotb ¹

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.

² Department of Civil Engineering, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran.

10.22059/ceij.2026.390223.2247

Abstract

Underground pipelines are vital infrastructures used for transporting energy and fluids. One of the primary seismic threats to these pipelines is fault displacement along their path. Therefore, investigating the behavior of these pipelines in various soil types under seismic effects is of significant importance. This study experimentally and numerically investigates the behavior of Glass Reinforced Polymer (GRP) pipes in dense and loose sandy soils subjected to strike-slip faulting. Initially, four experimental samples, including pipes with 100 mm and 200 mm diameters, were tested in dense and loose sand. Subsequently, numerical analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of pipe diameter, pipe thickness, and pipe depth on the absolute displacement of the pipe at the failure moment. Additionally, the force causing the pipe failure was also calculated. The results showed that increasing the pipe diameter leads to more significant fault movement at failure. This effect is particularly pronounced in dense sand. Pipe strain and displacement changes were identified as reliable indicators for failure moments. The failure deformation of the pipe in loose sand was greater than in dense sand, such that the difference increased with a decrease in the pipe diameter.

Keywords

Buried GRP pipelines

Finite element analysis

Pipe soil interaction

Dense sand

Loose sand

Subjects