Strain Relief of a Buried Pipeline Due to Slope Movement

Pipelines constructed through geologically active areas, over time, can experience a significant amount of strain due to slope movement. Eventually may become necessary to strain relief the pipeline to ensure its integrity, which is the removal of the surrounding soil to allow for relaxation of the pipeline. This paper looks at the issue of pipeline strain relief due to gradual slope movement and quantifying the amount of relaxation. A non-contacting electromagnetic tool, the TSC StressProbe, that responds to material strain in ferromagnetic materials and a series of strain gauges were used to take in-situ pipeline strain measurements during the strain relieving excavation.