Review of techniques, challenges, and gaps in the subsurface gas release knowledge base.

Underground pipelines serve as critical infrastructure for gas transmission, strategically buried for safety, environmental, and economic considerations. Despite their importance, operational challenges and external interferences can lead to underground gas leaks with potentially catastrophic consequences for both human safety and the environment. The presence of a protective soil bed introduces complexities in understanding subsurface transport phenomena and quantifying gas releases accurately. Herein, this review presents a systematic analysis of published research in the field of underground gas releases, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches that connect the lithosphere and atmosphere. The analysis highlights the broad spectrum of employed methods, including theoretical models based on fundamental principles, empirical formulations derived from experimental data, and sophisticated computational tools. A clear fundamental understanding and computational analysis, and to a lesser extent experimental, have been established to describe the migration regime. In contrast, more empirical research has addressed the crater formation regime, though focus was given to the far-field modelling following the soil ejection rather than the transient phenomena leading to the formation of the crater. Additionally, this review touches upon practical and conceptual topics, such as detection and localization techniques, and flow regimes in other gaseous flows through soil and powder beds, putting into question the applicability of some presumed granulated concepts to the flowing behavior expected beyond migration. The research landscape predominantly focuses on investigating the influence of release parameters on the release phenomena only from the atmospheric or soil domain perspective. This work provides insights that aim to first transcend both domains and then bridge the three distinct flow regimes-migration, uplift, and crater formation-despite the limited acknowledgment of the necessity of addressing all regimes concurrently through a universal approach. This review serves as a valuable resource for engineers to develop innovative solutions for the management of risks associated with underground gas leaks.

Numerical Simulation and ANN Prediction of Crack Problems within Corrosion Defects.

Buried pipelines are widely used, so it is necessary to analyze and study their fracture characteristics. The locations of corrosion defects on the pipe are more susceptible to fracture under the influence of internal pressure generated during material transportation. In the open literature, a large number of studies have been conducted on the failure pressure or residual strength of corroded pipelines. On this basis, this study conducts a fracture analysis on buried pipelines with corrosion areas under seismic loads. The extended finite element method was used to model and analyze the buried pipeline under seismic load, and it was found that the stress value at the crack tip was maximum when the circumferential angle of the crack was near 5° in the corrosion area. The changes in the stress field at the crack tip in the corrosion zone of the pipeline under different loads were compared. Based on the BP algorithm, a neural network model that can predict the stress field at the pipe crack tip is established. The neural network is trained using numerical model data, and a prediction model with a prediction error of less than 10% is constructed. The crack tip characteristics were further studied using the BP neural network model, and it was determined that the tip stress fluctuation range is between 450 MPa and 500 MPa. The neural network model is optimized based on the GA algorithm, which solves the problem of convergence difficulties and improves the prediction accuracy. According to the prediction results, it is found that when the internal pressure increases, the corrosion depth will significantly affect the crack tip stress field. The maximum error of the optimized neural network is 5.32%. The calculation data of the optimized neural network model were compared with the calculation data of other models, and it was determined that GA-BPNN has better adaptability in this research problem.

Research on the interaction between trench material and pipeline under fault displacement.

With the large-scale construction of oil and gas pipelines, the safety issues of long-distance buried pipelines in the service and construction have become increasingly prominent. The complex geological and topographical conditions of the special zone will put forwards extremely high requirements on pipe trench laying backfill materials and construction technology. For example, pipelines are inevitable to cross the active fault, while the trench backfilled with soil has limitations in protecting them from failure under the active fault displacement caused by the earthquake. Therefore, it is necessary to study the pipe-soil interaction mechanism, determine the stress state of the pipeline and propose a new backfilling material that can protect the pipeline from failure. Foam concrete (FC) provides a new choice to backfill the buried pipeline trench due to its high-homogeneity, lightweight, controllable-strength, and self-compacting. To further determine the applicability of the FC, the pipe-FC interaction mechanism is studied. Then, a FE model of the FC-pipeline-soil interaction system is established by Abaqus to quantitatively analyze the applicability of the FC based on the experimental data of the mechanical performance of the FC. It proves that using FC as trench backfill material has a noticeable protective effect on the pipeline under the earthquake-induced displacement of the normal fault. Furthermore, FC has a better protective effect on the pipeline subjected to compressive than tensile. Therefore, the reference for applying FC in trench backfilling of pipelines crossing normal fault is provided.

Study on the calculation method and structural dynamic response of buried pipeline subjected to external explosion load based on multiphase coupling.

When the buried pipeline is subjected to the external explosion load, stress and deformation will occur. When the stress and deformation value exceed a specific range, it will affect the normal use of the buried pipeline. In this paper, a multiphase coupled model of pipeline, soil and fluid within the pipeline is established. The penalty function coupling method is used to describe the load between soil and pipeline and the fluid within the pipeline. By specifying the boundary conditions of the coupled system, the multiphase coupled global solution variational principle function of the soil-pipe-fluid is derived. According to the established multiphase coupled calculation method, the numerical simulation analysis of the response of pipeline to external explosion is carried out. The maximum error of the experimental and numerical simulation results is about 5%, which verifies the accuracy of the multiphase coupled calculation method. The soil-pipeline-fluid multiphase coupled numerical calculation model is established to analyze the response of the buried pipeline under the external explosion load. The results show that during the explosion shock wave propagating in the soil, the peak value of the explosion pressure in different positions in the soil of the gas pipeline is greater than that of the oil pipeline. As for the structural response, the maximum radial displacement value of the oil pipeline is reduced by 3.83 mm compared with the gas pipeline, the maximum stress value is reduced by 3.75%. The maximum radial displacement value of the pipeline with a fluid velocity of 1.5 m/s is 2.65 mm larger than that of the pipeline with a fluid velocity of 1 m/s, and the maximum stress value is increased by 5.72%. The deformation resistance and explosion resistance of the oil pipeline are both stronger than that of the gas pipeline. The higher the fluid velocity, the weaker the pipeline's resistance to deformation and explosion will be.

Experimental study on the leakage temperature field of buried CO2 pipelines.

The leakage of small holes in the buried CO2 pipeline is not easy to detect, which leads to the problem of the inability to accurately trace the source of the pipeline repair in the later stage. This paper designs and builds an experimental system to simulate the leakage of buried CO2 pipelines and conducts experiments on the leakage of small holes in buried CO2 pipelines to investigate the changes in the surrounding soil temperature when they leak. The results showed that the type of movement of CO2 in porous media after it is released from the leak is "funneling." At a distance of about 50 mm from the horizontal, the temperature difference in the horizontal surface is smallest at the 50 cm closest to the vertical distance of the leak, while at a distance of 225 mm from the horizontal, the temperature difference in the horizontal surface is largest at the 70 cm farthest from the vertical distance of the leak. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the later development of technologies that can quickly locate the leakage points of buried CO2 pipelines and accurately determine their leakage status.

Frost Heaving Damage Mechanism of a Buried Natural Gas Pipeline in a River and Creek Region.

When the buried pipeline passes through the permafrost zone, the phenomenon of frost swelling occurs in the permafrost zone, which causes a certain degree of bending and deformation of the pipeline. As a result, the pipeline's structural safety is compromised, and the pipeline finally fails during operation, posing a serious hazard to the natural gas pipeline's operation. Whereas the theoretical research on soil frost heave is relatively comprehensive, the applied research on engineering problems is not yet complete. Therefore, it is necessary to predict frost heaving through experiments and numerical simulation, and put forward reasonable control measures for existing or potential problems. For the problem of pipeline damage caused by frost swelling of soil in the natural gas high-pressure regulator station in a river and creek region, the Drucker-Prager elastic-ideal plastic model of soil was selected for finite element analysis, and a reasonable finite element model of pipe-soil was established in this paper. Through the temperature field analysis, it was found that the soil around the buried pipe is affected by the pipeline and is lower than its freezing temperature, which makes the soil freeze and swell. Furthermore, through the thermal-structural coupling analysis, it was found that the buried pipe is affected by the freezing and swelling of the soil and the structure is greatly likely to be damaged. In addition, by analyzing the temperature distribution and frost heave deformation of the soil around the pipeline, as well as the deformation and force of the pipeline at different pipe temperatures, this paper also determined the ideal temperature for preventing frost heave damage to natural gas at high-pressure regulator stations as -1 °C. Finally, based on the results of the abovementioned analysis, the heating method was determined to improve the frost damage phenomenon at the high-pressure regulator. The results of the anti-frost and swell study were used to conduct field trials at natural gas high-pressure regulator stations where frost and swell had occurred. By adding heating furnace to increase inlet temperature, frost heaving of gas transmission pipeline can be effectively prevented. The results of the research provide a reference for both existing and new natural gas pipelines, and also accumulate experience for winter maintenance design and construction of pipeline engineering in seasonally frozen soil areas.

A review of crack growth models for near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking on oil and gas pipelines.

This paper presents a review of four existing growth models for near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking (NNpHSCC) defects on buried oil and gas pipelines: Chen et al.'s model, two models developed at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Xing et al.'s model. All four models consider corrosion fatigue enhanced by hydrogen embrittlement as the main growth mechanism for NNpHSCC. The predictive accuracy of these growth models is investigated based on 39 crack growth rates obtained from full-scale tests conducted at the CanmetMATERIALS of Natural Resources Canada of pipe specimens that are in contact with NNpH soils and subjected to cyclic internal pressures. The comparison of the observed and predicted crack growth rates indicates that the hydrogen-enhanced decohesion (HEDE) component of Xing et al.'s model leads to on average reasonably accurate predictions with the corresponding mean and coefficient of variation (COV) of the observed-to-predicted ratios being 1.06 and 61.2%, respectively. The predictive accuracy of the other three models are markedly poorer. The analysis results suggest that further research is needed to improve existing growth models or develop new growth models to facilitate the pipeline integrity management practice with respect to NNpHSCC.

Theoretical analysis and finite element simulation of pipeline structure in liquefied soil.

A mechanical analysis model for the floating of buried pipelines in soil liquefaction areas is established in this paper. In order to improve the inherent defects of the elastic foundation beam method based on the Winkler model and increase the calculation accuracy, the Pasternak model is introduced and the interaction between soil and spring is considered. A mechanical analysis method for buried pipelines in liquefaction zone considering axial load is proposed in present paper. According to the Pasternak model and the deflection curve differential equation, the pipe bending deformation curve equation and the deformation coordination equation are derived. The analytical calculation method of the pipe mechanical response is established. A new method of the mechanical analysis of the floating of buried pipelines in the liquefaction zone is provided. The mechanical response of the pipeline under the conditions of different pipeline parameters and liquefaction zone length is analyzed. The reliability of the analysis method in this paper is verified by the comparison of finite element method (FEM). Considering that the previous researches of scholars mainly focused on straight pipes, there are few studies on the pipe structure nodes in liquefied soil. The mechanical properties of the three-way pipe structure in the soil liquefaction zone are analyzed by the finite element method (FEM). The influence of pipe diameter, wall thickness, liquefied soil density, transition zone length, buried depth, and pipeline internal pressure on the mechanical response of the pipeline is analyzed.

Experimental study on the transport characteristics of buried pipeline leakage and the performance of groundwater remediation system.

Enhanced understanding of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) infiltration into sandy porous medium is significant to the effective design of remediation strategies. A system for buried pipeline leakage in 2-D sandbox was conducted to investigate the migration of diesel through a sandy porous medium, and the system could also be conducted to investigate groundwater remediation. Two groups of experiments were carried out. The first experiment consisted of diesel infiltration into a fine sand matrix. We could notice that diesel spilled in dry sand layer at a constant speed and the diesel front kept longitudinal movement due to the gravity before it arrived at the edge of the capillary zone. The diesel front broadened as a whole because of the capillary force jacking after it reached the capillary zone. Finally, the bulk of the diesel was contained on top of the capillary zone. To protect groundwater, the second experiment consisted of remediating soils and groundwater. The results indicated that the voltage of electrocoagulation apparatus had a great influence on the treatment effect, and the removal rate of diesel was found to be more than 90% with a constant voltage of 20 V. The efficiency of groundwater remediation was influenced by the flow velocity, and it took 11 h when the flow velocity was 2.089 L/min. To summarize, the research was conducive to the study on diesel pollution control and pollution prediction.