Research on settlement stress detection and control measures for in-service pipelines in valve chamber

Abstract The non-uniform settlement of the valve chamber can easily lead to pipeline tilting and deformation and even cause the consequences of tearing, seriously threatening the safety of pipeline operation. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct stress detection on the in-service valve chamber pipeline and study the severity of the impact of non-uniform settlement on the pipeline. For a valve chamber with non-uniform settlement in a coastal area, the ultrasonic stress detection method was used for stress detection of in-service gas pipelines. The corresponding relationship between wave velocity and stress was analyzed using acoustic elasticity theory. An ultrasonic stress detection instrument was used for on-site measurement applications, and the stress state and level of gas pipelines in the valve chamber were evaluated based on the stress detection results. The results show that under current conditions, the stress at each measuring point of the gas transmission pipeline in the valve chamber does not exceed the yield strength of the pipe. Still, the stress values at some measuring points have exceeded the allowable stress. Appropriate settlement control measures have been taken to ensure the safe operation of the pipeline.