Scale effects on lateral soil-buried pipe interaction.

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Title: Scale effects on lateral soil-buried pipe interaction.
Authors: Li, Xin1 (AUTHOR), Kouretzis, George1 (AUTHOR) Georgios.Kouretzis@newcastle.edu.au, Thoeni, Klaus1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Acta Geotechnica. Mar2026, Vol. 21 Issue 3, p1649-1665. 17p.
Subjects: Buried pipes (Engineering), Steel pipe, Discrete element method, Computer simulation, Soil mechanics
Abstract: This paper investigates a new approach to determining the ultimate reaction of elastoplastic Winkler springs used in stress analysis models of buried steel pipes subjected to permanent lateral ground deformations. Unlike state-of-practice methods, the dimensionless expression on which this approach is based on allows for scale effects, by introducing only one additional parameter that can be determined from common geotechnical laboratory tests. To show that the dimensionless expression provides reliable estimates of stress analysis parameters for large-diameter pipes, which are not covered by existing methods, we use it to interpret the results of numerical simulations with the Discrete Element Method. The numerical methodology is first benchmarked against 1-g physical model tests and is employed parametrically to predict the reaction on a pipe that results from lateral relative soil–pipe movement, as a function of the embedment of the pipe, the density of the coarse-grained backfill, and of the pipe's diameter. Gravity scaling is employed to efficiently simulate pipes with diameters up to 1460 mm, and we show that this technique provides results that compare well with strict, unscaled simulations. Finally, we demonstrate that the dimensionless expression can be used to extrapolate existing methods and experimental data to estimate Winkler spring reaction values compatible with a wide range of steel pipe diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Acta Geotechnica is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Scale effects on lateral soil-buried pipe interaction.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Xin%22">Li, Xin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kouretzis%2C+George%22">Kouretzis, George</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Georgios.Kouretzis@newcastle.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Thoeni%2C+Klaus%22">Thoeni, Klaus</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Acta+Geotechnica%22">Acta Geotechnica</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 21 Issue 3, p1649-1665. 17p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Buried+pipes+%28Engineering%29%22">Buried pipes (Engineering)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Steel+pipe%22">Steel pipe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Discrete+element+method%22">Discrete element method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+simulation%22">Computer simulation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Soil+mechanics%22">Soil mechanics</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This paper investigates a new approach to determining the ultimate reaction of elastoplastic Winkler springs used in stress analysis models of buried steel pipes subjected to permanent lateral ground deformations. Unlike state-of-practice methods, the dimensionless expression on which this approach is based on allows for scale effects, by introducing only one additional parameter that can be determined from common geotechnical laboratory tests. To show that the dimensionless expression provides reliable estimates of stress analysis parameters for large-diameter pipes, which are not covered by existing methods, we use it to interpret the results of numerical simulations with the Discrete Element Method. The numerical methodology is first benchmarked against 1-g physical model tests and is employed parametrically to predict the reaction on a pipe that results from lateral relative soil–pipe movement, as a function of the embedment of the pipe, the density of the coarse-grained backfill, and of the pipe's diameter. Gravity scaling is employed to efficiently simulate pipes with diameters up to 1460 mm, and we show that this technique provides results that compare well with strict, unscaled simulations. Finally, we demonstrate that the dimensionless expression can be used to extrapolate existing methods and experimental data to estimate Winkler spring reaction values compatible with a wide range of steel pipe diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Acta Geotechnica is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s11440-025-02818-1
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 17
        StartPage: 1649
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Buried pipes (Engineering)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Steel pipe
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Discrete element method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Computer simulation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Soil mechanics
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Scale effects on lateral soil-buried pipe interaction.
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            NameFull: Li, Xin
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              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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