Simplified Technique for Predicting Offshore Pipeline Expansion

In this study, we propose a method for estimating the amount of expansion that occurs in subsea pipelines, which could be applied in the design of robust structures that transport oil and gas from offshore wells. We begin with a literature review and general discussion of existing estimation methods and terminologies with respect to subsea pipelines. Due to the effects of high pressure and high temperature, the production of fluid from offshore wells is typically caused by physical deformation of subsea structures, e.g., expansion and contraction during the transportation process. In severe cases, vertical and lateral buckling occurs, which causes a significant negative impact on structural safety, and which is related to on-bottom stability, free-span, structural collapse, and many other factors. In addition, these factors may affect the production rate with respect to flow assurance, wax, and hydration, to name a few. In this study, we developed a simple and efficient method for generating a reliable pipe expansion design in the early stage, which can lead to savings in both cost and computation time. As such, in this paper, we propose an applicable diagram, which we call the standard dimensionless ratio (SDR) versus virtual anchor length (L_A) diagram, that utilizes an efficient procedure for estimating subsea pipeline expansion based on applied reliable scenarios. With this user guideline, offshore pipeline structural designers can reliably determine the amount of subsea pipeline expansion and the obtained results will also be useful for the installation, design, and maintenance of the subsea pipeline.     

用于预报离岸管线膨胀的简化技术（英文）

In this study, we propose a method for estimating the amount of expansion that occurs in subsea pipelines, which could be applied in the design of robust structures that transport oil and gas from offshore wells. We begin with a literature review and general discussion of existing estimation methods and terminologies with respect to subsea pipelines. Due to the effects of high pressure and high temperature, the production of fluid from offshore wells is typically caused by physical deformation of subsea structures, e.g., expansion and contraction during the transportation process. In severe cases, vertical and lateral buckling occurs,which causes a significant negative impact on structural safety, and which is related to on-bottom stability, free-span, structural collapse, and many other factors. In addition, these factors may affect the production rate with respect to flow assurance, wax, and hydration, to name a few. In this study, we developed a simple and efficient method for generating a reliable pipe expansion design in the early stage, which can lead to savings in both cost and computation time. As such, in this paper, we propose an applicable diagram, which we call the standard dimensionless ratio(SDR) versus virtual anchor length(LA) diagram, that utilizes an efficient procedure for estimating subsea pipeline expansion based on applied reliable scenarios. With this user guideline,offshore pipeline structural designers can reliably determine the amount of subsea pipeline expansion and the obtained results will also be useful for the installation, design, and maintenance of the subsea pipeline.     

Regional Cooperation in the Post-South China Sea Arbitration Era: Potential Mechanism and Cooperative Areas

Although the South China arbitration has been settled recently, the final settlement of the South China Sea disputes remains in a political stalemate, at least for the near future. This article proposes a regional mechanism that could form the basis for further cooperation in the South China Sea. This mechanism is informed by political theory, facts on the grounds, and lessons learned from cooperative practices in other regions. As a way to work toward a resolution to the South China Sea's sovereignty disputes, and to improve on current cooperative practices, the objective of this mechanism is to involve all parties in the region and thus cover the entire South China Sea, including the disputed areas. Based on incentives for claimants, the level of political sensitivity, the advantage of involving all claimants and disputed areas, and past practices that have facilitated Taiwan's participation, it is the conclusion of this analysis that the conservation and management of marine living resources is the most promising area of cooperation. In addition, the practice in Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is recommended as an appropriate model to be applied mutatis mutandis in the South China Sea.     

Development of the Software for Calculating Tunnel Portal Structure Based on the Theory of Limit State Method北大核心CSCD

The limit states of railway tunnel portal structure including compression, tensile, anti-overturning, antisliding and bearing capacity of foundation should be considered when portal structure is designed based on the prob⁃ ability limit state method. In order to evaluate the reliability of portal structure, the reliability index and limit state of bearing capacities of different limit states need to be calculated. The traditional methods generally use hand compu⁃ tation combined with MATTLAB, ANSYS, EXCEL and other softwares, which has low computation efficiency and poor practicality. In view of above problems, a calculating software for portal structure was developed based on the probability limit state method and Visual Basic platform, which realizes the function of rapid calculation of reliabili⁃ ty index and limit state of bearing capacities under five limit states of portal structure, offers three methods to calcu⁃ late the reliability index including JC method, fractile method and Monte-Carlo method. Moreover, the calculation results can be written in the EXCEL template file, greatly improving the efficiency of tunnel portal structure calcula⁃ tion. The accuracy of the software is verified by comparing with the results of hand calculation. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Flexible Overlap Technology for the Lining Trolley of Single-track Railway Tunnels北大核心CSCD

Falling-off of rock piece at tunnel arch and invert heave are the main potential safety problems affecting normal operation of the railway tunnel. The reasons causing falling-off of rock piece include squeezing by lining trol⁃ ley at construction joint, concrete cutting by cantilever end of water stop at construction joint, construction cold joint at arch, concrete quality deficiency and so on. To eliminate the falling-off of rock piece at tunnel arch caused by rig⁃ id overlap, modification of lining trolley and the flexible overlap technique combining tray with rubber gasket were adopted during the construction of Nuwashan tunnel on China-Laos railway, and the potential quality problem due to rigid overlap at construction joint of tunnel lining were effectively solved. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Behaviors of Deep-Buried Water-Storage and Drainage Shield Tunnels北大核心CSCD

Deep-buried water-storage and drainage shield tunnels, which are different from road and subway shield tunnels in terms of computation theory, construction technology and operation maintenance, would bear high inner water pressure and large earth pressure. In view of the change of the bearing mode for the lining structure of water-storage and drainage shield tunnels, a full-ring test and numerical analysis are carried out to study the influence of inner water pressure, staggered joint assembly and bolt installation types on the behaviors of water-storage and drainage shield tunnels. The results show that the deformation of the straight-jointed water-storage and drainage shield tunnel varies greatly from the state of empty water to that of full water; and the vertical and horizontal convergence deformations of the tunnel with inner water pressure of 0.6 MPa are 2.2 times and 3.2 times of that without inner water pressure, respectively. The convergence deformation, and the maximum joint opening and bolt tension of stagger-jointed lining structure decrease by 15%-25% and 25%- 40%, respectively, compared with that of the straight-jointed water-storage and drainage shield tunnel. The bolts at the segmental joints will yield because of the increase of inner water pressure and the first occurrence of bolt yield phenomenon is located near the position on the lining structure which is under the action of maximum negative bending moment; because the failure of shield tunnel is always caused by the yield of joint bolts, this position is the weak point for the deep-buried water-storage and drainage shield tunnel. For the water-storage and drainage shield tunnel based on the connection with double rows of bolts, the bolts near the outer arc surface of segmental joints in the area of 90 degree in the vault and arch bottom can be removed; the bolts near the inner arc surface of the segmental joints within the 90 degree of the haunch must be installed, otherwise, the tensile force of the bolts at the segmental joint near the maximum negative bending moment will increase by 5%-14%. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Experimental Study on Health Detection of Operating Metro Tunnels with Vehicle-mounted GPR北大核心CSCD

The vehicle-mounted GPR technique, a non-contact and long-distance detection method with air-cou- pled antennas, is a fast nondestructive detecting technique in the field of structural health safety assessment of tunnels and underground engineering, which has changed the traditional measurement method of hand-held GPR antenna closely attached to the tunnel lining. This paper describes the detecting conditions and working principles of this technique used in health assessment of metro tunnels, and evaluates the feasibility of vehicle-mounted GPR to de- tect the metro tunnel in the basis of analyzing the test results. The experimental results show that this technique could detect the metro tunnel at normal operating speed within the vehicle gauge, providing a new method for the maintenance and safety inspection of operating metro tunnels. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

GIS-Based Grid Assessment Model of Shield Tunnel Conditions and Its Application北大核心CSCD

As the lack of guidancs for maintenance and repair of rail transit shield tunnels, this paper proposes a macroscopic method for grid assessment of shield tunnels. First, the tunnel serviceability index (TSI) is adopted as the tunnel condition assessment method and the results are compared with Chinese codes and the traditional fuzzy hierarchical comprehensive evaluation method. Second, based on the assumption that the factors affecting the conditions of the tunnels, such as the surrounding stratum environment, the structural overlying load and so on, are correlated spatially, the spatial variability theory is used for the grid assessment of shield tunnels. Finally, taking the Shanghai Rail Transit System as an example, the application results of the grid assessment method are described. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Distribution Laws of Earth Pressure Acting on a Shield Tunnel Based on Measured Data北大核心CSCD

The earth pressure acting on a shield tunnel is intrinsically related to synchronous grouting, the position of the shield machines, the rigidity of the segment and stratum, etc. Existing theoretical formulas and empirical methods couldn′t exactly reflect the actual state of the segment of a shield tunnel during construction due to the com⁃plexities mentioned above. Based on earth pressure data measured at 52 monitoring sections in 35 tunnels, the distri⁃bution laws and influential factors are analyzed. The results show that: 1) the earth pressure scope is 0 to 400 kPa for over 90% of the total samples, but is recommended to be 0.3 to 0.4 MPa for the empirical grouting pressure; 2)the earth pressure on the segment and the buried depth approximately have an exponential relationship, with the dif⁃ference between the max. earth pressure and the stable earth pressure decreasing with an increase of the buried depth; 3) the lateral pressure coefficient range is 0.5 to 2.3, which is partially out of the scope of recommended values(0.5 to 1.0) of surrounding rock of grade Ⅵ, so it is not appropriate to follow the recommended values in the specifi⁃cation; 4) the relationship of the earth pressure and the segment/soil stiffness ratio presents a quadratic function, and the most reasonable value for the stiffness ratio of the segment/soil is 1.0; and 5) there are four typical stages of the spatial distribution of earth pressure on a segment in clay stratum—the erection stage, the grouting influence stage,the consolidation contraction stage and the recovery stage, with the distribution of the circumferential earth pressure being asymmetrical. The distribution curves of the earth and water pressure in sand and soil layers are classified as a“weak decay pulse fluctuation”and“double hump,”respectively. After stabilizing, the circumferential earth pressure is notably in a symmetrical distribution, and the water pressure exhibits a light bulb shaped distribution (large at the lower part and small at the upper part). These conclusions provide a reference for studying the mechanism of earth pressure functions and perfecting the design of segments for shield tunnelling. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Study on Reinforcing Technology System for the Overlapped Running Shield Tunnels underneath the Track Group of High Speed Railways北大核心CSCD

The large settlements of tracks will emerge due to multiple disturbances in the construction of over- lapped shield tunnels, which affects the running safety of trains. Based on the overlapped Sungang station-Honghu station shield running tunnels of Shenzhen Metro line 7 passing underneath 26 tracks of high speed railways, a rein- forcement technology system consisting of”track support + subgrade reinforcement + interlayer soil consolidation + internal support of the lower tunnel”was developed. The settlements of tracks were mainly monitored automatically with manual monitoring as an auxiliary one. The results show that the maximum settlement of main track caused by constructing overlapped shield tunnels is -5.9 mm which is less than the control value of 10 mm, ensuring the opera- tion safety and verifying the reliability and practicability of the reinforcement technology system. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.