Steel Pipe Wrinkling due to Longitudinal Permanent Ground Deformation

The behavior and design of a straight buried steel pipe subject to permanent ground deformation (PGD) where the movement is parallel to the pipe axis is considered. The PGD zone is characterized by the amount of movement, δ, and the length or spatial extent, L , of the zone. Because of the ability of steel pipe to deform in tension well beyond the effective yield strain, wrinkling of the pipe wall in compression is taken as the failure mode of interest. Critical values for δ and L , which result in wrinkling of the pipe wall in compression are determined for five different pipe materials and various burial conditions. In most situations, it is found that the behavior and onset of wrinkling are governed by the length of the PGD zone. The utility of this information is illustrated by a design example.