Analysis of the causes of engineering structures deformations at gas industry facilities in the permafrost zone

Abstract

Construction of oil and gas infrastructure facilities on permafrost soils is the most important task of increasing the raw material base of the entire fuel and energy industry in Russia. Permafrost soil is a complex, multicomponent system, state of which depends on many factors. Buildings and structures built under such conditions, on the one hand, have a complex thermal effect on permafrost soils, and on the other hand, they perceive the consequences of changes in the characteristics of such soils. This situation leads to the fact that buildings and structures on permafrost soil during their life cycle are subject to complex and poorly predictable deformations. Article presents the results of a study for various degradation processes of permafrost soils that can be implemented at construction sites of industrial facilities. Analysis of the deformations causes for engineering structures at the gas industry in the permafrost zone is carried out. Series of reasons causing such deformations have been investigated. Comprehensive criterion for assessing changes in permafrost-geological conditions of industrial sites is proposed. It is suggested to apply the method of calculating the individual characteristics for the temperature regime of the territory to monitor and assess the conditions of heat exchange and predict changes in the geocryological conditions of permafrost soil.

Ensuring the Sustainability of Arctic Industrial Facilities under Conditions of Global Climate Change

“…About 60% of the territory of the Russian Federation is in the permafrost zone with major mineral reserves in it, as shown in Figure 2 [21][22][23][24][25][26]. One of the important tasks of ensuring sustainable functioning of facilities in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is to prevent defrosting and thawing of permafrost [27,28].…”

“…About 60% of the territory of the Russian Federation is in the permafrost zone with major mineral reserves in it, as shown in Figure 2 [21][22][23][24][25][26]. One of the important tasks of ensuring sustainable functioning of facilities in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is to prevent defrosting and thawing of permafrost [27,28]. The wide distribution of permafrost over the entire Arctic shelf and the presence of an extremely harsh climate pose enormous difficulties for construction [29][30][31].…”

Development of the automated temperature control system of the main gas pipeline

“…The papers 23 , 24 describe the tasks of ensuring the safe operation of oil and gas pipelines. In the other studies conducted by scholars, they analyzed the need to develop a thermal field control system in various operating conditions and pipeline operating conditions 25 – 33 .…”

Assessing the State of Structural Foundations in Permafrost Regions by Means of Acoustic Testing

“…For the Russian Federation, the problem of permafrost degradation is of particular concern because a lot of the country's mineral and hydrocarbon resources are located in the Arctic zone [3,4]. Permafrost degradation puts buildings and engineering structures under threat, as evidenced by emergencies that have occurred in recent times [5][6][7]. In such conditions, it is vital to timely register when frozen soils become plastic-frozen to ensure the safe usage of buildings and structures.…”

“…One of the major methods is temperature control. There are two key approaches to how data is obtained on permafrost temperature: measuring soil temperature profiles, using sensors installed in boreholes [5,8,9], and satellite remote sensing of the earth's surface [10,11]. There are a lot of mathematical models that have been developed to assess temperature distribution in soils [10,[12][13][14].…”