Review of Pipeline Performance during Earthquakes since 1906

Pipelines are lifeline structures, as any significant disruption to the performance of these systems often translates into undesirable impacts on the economics and the living conditions of citizens. It is important to maintain the integrity of pipelines during severe natural hazards such as earthquakes. Prior observations have indicated that pipelines are highly vulnerable to earthquakes, and therefore the seismic behavior of pipelines has attracted great attention from researchers over the years. This paper presents a detailed review of the response of pipelines in previous major earthquakes with an emphasis on various seismic hazards, associated failure modes, and extent of pipeline failures in the last 110 years (1906–2016). In addition, the paper draws attention to the lessons learnt from the earthquakes that led to the development of seismic design criteria for pipelines. A state-of-the-art review on seismic fragility estimation for buried pipelines is presented along with a comparative study of existing fragility formulations. Also, the paper presents a brief review of different seismic mitigation techniques used in practice. Based on the review, areas of concern are identified, and the future direction for research is highlighted.