Finite elements analysis of an underground collector installed by pipe-jacking method

Abstract

Finite elements analysis of an underground collector installed by pipejacking methodUsing the commercial software RS 2 , a 2D finite element program for soil and rock application, the ground response to pipe jacking in pipeline installation in Avilés (north coast of Spain) was analyzed. The geology of the location comprises Quaternary deposits on both flanks of the Avilés estuary and includes different highly variable geotechnical behavior. Both axi-symmetric and plane strain analyses were carried out in RS 2 to simulate in 3D the ground response to pipe advancement. The results demonstrate that the vertical displacements at specific positions in the immediate vicinity of the pipeline were small. The maximum deformation at ground surface was shown to be less than 1.5 mm, which was still safe. However the displacements were found to vary depending on the local properties of the materials drilled. Stress distributions were also computed.

Geotechnical map of a coastal and industrialized urban area (Avilés, NW Spain)

“…This institution of research made some more detailed geoengineering maps of Spanish cities (1:25,000) in the 1980s, though Avilés was not included. Moreover, other studies about specific geotechnical aspects have been subsequently published such as the characterization of residual soils (Díaz-Díaz, Arias, López-Fernández, & Pando, 2014;Díaz-Díaz, Omer, & Arias, 2016;Torres Alonso & Gutiérrez Claverol, 2006).…”