When a buried pipeline is exposed in the middle of a river, the need of a mitigation action immediately arises. Lowering the pipeline by natural flexion is sometimes chosen after competing in magnitude, complexity and cost with other alternatives such as river bank and bed erosion control protections. Although simple in its conceptual design, its implementation requires taking into consideration several factors that can affect its successful outcome in terms of the final position of the pipeline and the remediation measures needed to restore the terrain and environment to its original situation. Five different field cases are presented: Río Colorado, Río Santa María, Río Negro and Río Suquía, all of them located at northern Argentina, and a fifth one placed at the Patagonian desert. For each of them references are made regarding the following issues: reasons for the selection of this option, in or out of service movement operation, depth of burial, design of the lowering curve based on pipe allowable tensions, topographic reference system, ditch design, drainage and stabilization, need for river diversion, lowering equipment, ditch interceptors design, ditch filling and soil compaction procedure, and ROW remediation. Finally, a set of recommendations are included as a way to share this experience and provide a guideline for future works.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2015 International Pipeline Geotechnical Conference
July 15–17, 2015
Bogota, Colombia
Conference Sponsors:
- Pipeline Systems Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5691-8
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
River Crossings: Lessons Learned From Lowering Pipelines by Natural Flexion
Martín Carnicero,
Martín Carnicero
Transportadora de Gas del Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Search for other works by this author on:
Manuel Ponce
Manuel Ponce
Transportadora de Gas del Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Search for other works by this author on:
Martín Carnicero
Transportadora de Gas del Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Manuel Ponce
Transportadora de Gas del Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Paper No:
IPG2015-8512, V001T04A001; 9 pages
Published Online:
December 23, 2015
Citation
Carnicero, M, & Ponce, M. "River Crossings: Lessons Learned From Lowering Pipelines by Natural Flexion." Proceedings of the ASME 2015 International Pipeline Geotechnical Conference. ASME 2015 International Pipeline Geotechnical Conference. Bogota, Colombia. July 15–17, 2015. V001T04A001. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IPG2015-8512
Download citation file:
8
Views
0
Citations
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Effect of Transitions in the Water Table and Soil Moisture Content on the Cathodic Protection of Buried Pipelines
J. Pressure Vessel Technol (February,2011)
Cover Requirement and Stability of Horizontally Bent Buried Pipelines
J. Pressure Vessel Technol (April,2012)
Effectiveness of Anti-Liquefaction Techniques for Buried
Pipelines
J. Pressure Vessel Technol (August,1994)
Related Chapters
Geohazard Assessment and Management - Assessment Principles and Techniques
Pipeline Geohazards: Planning, Design, Construction and Operations
Better Risk Management for Underground Pipelines and Tunnels Using Sound Geotechnical Interpretation
Geological Engineering: Proceedings of the 1 st International Conference (ICGE 2007)
LARGE STANDOFF MAGNETOMETRY TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES TO ASSESS PIPELINE INTEGRITY UNDER GEOHAZARD CONDITIONS AND APPROACHES TO UTILISATION OF IT
Pipeline Integrity Management Under Geohazard Conditions (PIMG)