Response of Buried Power Transmission Cables to Earthquake-Induced Permanent Ground Deformations

Abstract eng:
The performance of buried power transmission cables in areas subjected to ground deformations is an important engineering consideration for the utility owners. The performance of buried power transmission cables subjected to permanent relative axial ground displacements was investigated using a full-scale testing facility. The facility comprises a 2.5 m x 3.8 m soil chamber, with the capacity to subject buried transmission cables (or pipelines) to large relative displacements. The buried cables were subjected to relative axial and transverse soil movements, and the test results are compared with the response predicted from commonly used approaches to assess the performance of buried pipelines. The peak loads under relative axial soil movements on cables buried in dense soil were noted to be under-predicted by the current approaches; this is likely due to the increased soil normal stresses on the cable due to constrained soil dilation not accounted by the current approaches. The general trend of the predicted response using current approaches for pipelines under lateral loading is in reasonable agreement with the experimental observations, although direct comparisons between the test results and the predictions were difficult due to the three-dimensional cable deformation patterns arising from lateral loading tests.

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