Realistic Analysis of Buried Pipe in PLAXIS 2D

Transporting water, waste through the buried pipe is a very old civil engineering technology. So, for a long time, we have been using Concrete Pipes. Now, with the invention of lightweight strong flexible materials, like carbon fiber, PVC, old ‘Concrete’ pipes are being replaced by these new lightweight thin pipes. The tunnel designer of PLAXIS 2D can help a user to construct a buried pipe model in no time and solve the buried pipe installations with full water load or empty. There are three methods of implementation of buried pipe in PLAXIS 2D:

1. Install a new pipe buried under soil, using plate elements
2. Install a new pipe buried under soil, using volume elements
3. Replace the old buried pipe with a new one using the ‘Sliding-in’ installation method

Install a new pipe buried under soil, using plate elements

Using PLAXIS 2D tunnel designer (Need GSE) you can quickly draw the pipe shape of your choice. You can create egg-shaped pipes very easily. However, you will only need the radius of each segment and its angular coverage. You can create an excavation with temporary retaining structures. You can lower your water levels inside the trench, calculate water flow, analyze the stability of the excavation before laying the pipe. Then, After the model setup and calculation, you can see the bending moment and shear forces in your pipe and check with your design specification.

 

Using Plate Elements

Install a new pipe buried under soil, using volume elements

The same solution of (a) is achievable using volume elements (continuum) instead of a plate. All the steps of solution (a) are achievable with this method. However, the only difference is the stresses are visible inside the volume element. You can also integrate those stresses automatically inside the PLAXIS 2D output module.

 

Using Volume Elements

Replace the old buried pipe with new one using ‘Sliding-in’ installation method

Replacement analysis of buried pipe by PLAXIS 2D is very interesting. There will be two pipes, one inside the other. So, there must be a physical connection between these two pipes at any point of the pipe geometry. Otherwise, the analysis of PLAXIS 2D will fail.

 

 

NOTE : All the techniques of buried pipe installation analysis by PLAXIS 2D are discussed in the below-mentioned featured training of virtuosity.com: https://virtuosity.bentley.com/product/ondemand-training-plaxis-analysis-of-a-buried-pipe/