Simulação numérica de dutos enterrados, submetidos à perda de apoio e elevação localizada.

Abstract

Recent disasters that occurred in this country, like the failure of a pipeline in Campo Grande and others disasters related to urban flooding, show us the need for developing scientific researches that help us to understand the behavior of these structures and to design them to serve the population. Analytical and experimental methods have some theoretical and practical limitations. On the other hand, numerical methods are capable to simulate staged constructions and to analyze together materials with different constitutive models, supplying practical necessities of geotechnical projects and complementing analytical and experimental models. In this dissertation comparisons between experimental results and numerical results have been made, trying to increase the comprehension about the interaction of soil and pipe with respect to mobilized stress distribution, displacements and strains. The numerical modeling was performed on PLAXIS 3D software, based on Finit Elements Method. The experimental test was made by Costa (2005) at São Carlos Engineering School/USP and involved buried pipes undergoing loss of support or elevation in a localized region along its length. Tests have been performed with physical models comprising dry and pure dry sand and a tube resting on a rigid trapdoor base located at the center of its length. The models were equipped with devices for measuring deflections and strains in the pipe, and total stresses in soil mass and in the lower boundary of the model.