Citation:
Abstract:
Shrink/Swell soil displacements are the source of additional loadings on expansive soil buried structures such as pipelines. One of the most important factors, which control the swelling values, is the initial soil suction. Using finite element analysis, this paper aims to estimate the effect of the initial soil suction on the loadings provoked by the consequences of a rainfall. An infiltration of 2mm/day intensity and which lasts for 30 days (1 months) on the pipeline buried within the clayey soil, with taking into account the unsaturated behavior of the soil of the Aine-Tine area (Mila, Algeria) is considered. Five initial values of soil suction (from -50kPa to -800kPa) with double increment are used. The obtained results confirm that, the higher the initial soil suction, the higher are the effects, whether on the pipeline internal axial forces or on the soil heave.