Evaluation of Stress-Relief Excavation for Pipelines Affected by Landslides: Case Studies

Abstract One of the mitigation methods for a pipeline affected by landslides is stress-relief excavation. In this mitigation approach, the soil above and around the pipeline in the affected area is excavated to allow the pipeline to rebound and relieve some of the accumulated elastic stresses on the pipeline. This paper presents the data collected before, during, and after stress-relief excavations at four landslide sites in the USA. These case studies include a variety of pipe strain condition, geometry, and ground conditions in which the stress-relief excavations were performed. The collected information includes pipe rebound measurements using survey laths, strain change measurements during and/or after stress-relief excavations using strain gauges when available, and pipeline rebound and strain change comparison before and after the stress-relief excavations using inertial measurement unit (IMU) measurements, when available.