System and method for improving deformability of buried pipelines

Abstract

A system is provided that increases the deformability of buried pipelines to accommodate combinations of vertical, lateral and longitudinal displacements and subsequent curvatures caused by ground movements. Installation of this system prevents concentration of deformations which may cause catastrophic failures such as buckling, yielding, rupture, and weld failures. The assembly includes an element provided adjacent a pipeline and collapsible in two orthogonal directions; one, the longitudinal direction of the pipe, and two, a direction of expected lateral movement of the pipe. The collapsible element is configured to resist soil pressure in a direction orthogonal to the first two directions, and further provided is a supporting backing element adjacent an end of the collapsible element opposed to the pipeline, to prevent exposure of the collapsible element to soil pressure in one of the two orthogonal collapsible directions. The size and configuration of the installation depends on the soil and pipe properties, and type/magnitude of expected displacements.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.