The effectiveness of using viscoelastic materials to reduce seismic induced vibrations of above ground pipelines

Abstract

Pipeline systems are commonly used to transport oil, natural gas, water, sewage and other materials. They are normally regarded as important lifeline structures. Ensuring the safety of these pipeline systems is crucial to the economy and environment. There are many reasons that may result in the damages to pipelines and these damages are often associated with pipeline vibrations. Therefore it is important to control pipeline vibrations to reduce the possibility of catastrophic damages. This paper carries out numerical investigations on the effectiveness of using viscoelastic material layers to mitigate seismic induced vibrations of above ground pipelines. The numerical analyses are carried out by using the commercial finite element code ANSYS. The numerical model of the viscoelastic material is firstly calibrated based on the experimental data obtained from a 1.6m long tubular sandwich structure. The calibrated material model is then applied to the pipeline system. The effectiveness of using viscoelastic materials as the seismic vibration control solution is discussed.