Earthquakes are one of the most important disasters affecting underground structures. Urban gas underground pipes may cause safety problems of structures in the event of an earthquake. Since Korea began digital observation, the number of earthquakes h...
Earthquakes are one of the most important disasters affecting underground structures. Urban gas underground pipes may cause safety problems of structures in the event of an earthquake. Since Korea began digital observation, the number of earthquakes has been steadily increasing. The seismic design standard for urban gas pipes was established in 2008, but it is difficult to estimate the impact of pipes in the event of an earthquake based on the installation of pipes. In this study, structural analysis was performed on PE (polyethylene pipe) pipes and PLP (polyethylene coated steel pipe) pipes, which are mainly used as buried pipes in Korea, according to environmental and pipe variables in the event of an earthquake. This study sought to find the variables of the most vulnerable buried pipe by modeling pipes through Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) and generating displacement on the ground. Through this study, it was confirmed that the larger the elastic modulus of the soil, the deeper the buried depth, the smaller the tube diameter, and the higher the pressure, the more PLP pipes are affected by earthquakes than PE. Based on these results, the vulnerable points of buried urban gas pipes are inferred and used for special inspections of buried pipes in the event of an earthquake.