Effect of lateral impact loads on failure of pressurized pipelines supported by foundation

Abstract The dynamic inelastic response and failure prediction of pipelines under lateral mass impact at the mid-span position are presented in this article. A total of 52 impact tests were carried out on seamless mild steel pipes with different internal pressure levels and foundation supports. Critical initial impact energies were obtained for each group of pipe specimens with different internal pressure levels and foundation supports. Numerical simulations of the experimental tests were carried out using three-dimensional dynamic non-linear finite element analysis, where both geometrical and material non-linearities were considered. Good agreements were achieved between the impact tests results and the numerical predictions. It has been found that the influences of the internal pressure and the foundation on the critical initial impact energy are significant. The critical initial impact energy is much less sensitive to internal pressure for the pipes with a foundation than those without a foundation.