Protection of buried pipes against accidental damage using geosynthetics

ABSTRACT: Buried pipes can be damaged by accidents, or by the action of vandalism. Depending on the material transported by the pipe and its pressure, serious consequences can result from such damage, which commonly involve great material losses and, unfortunately, losses of lives. This paper presents a model study on the influence of the presence of geosynthetic reinforcement to minimise the effects on a buried pipe caused by the penetration of a rigid object in the ground. Different types of reinforcements and reinforcement arrangements were tested. The penetrating object was driven in the ground under different inclinations to the vertical direction. Besides the force applied to the object, total stresses in the ground and pipe strains were measured. The results obtained showed the beneficial effect of the reinforcement presence in increasing the force necessary for object penetration, as well as in reducing total stresses and strains in the pipe. The reinforcement arrangement with the geosynthetic layer enveloping the pipe was the one that performed best.