Blast Effects on Buried Infrastructures

This study investigates dynamic responses of buried steel gas pipelines to internal explosive blasts using finite element simulation. The research addresses a fundamental engineering knowledge gap by integrating dynamic blast loading, soil–structure interaction, and material integrity alteration into a structured simulation framework investigating blast-induced pipeline deformation. Five significant parameters were investigated. These include the TNT charge mass, wall thickness, burial depth, soil type, and steel grade. These varied inputs were chosen due to prevalence in industry pipeline designs and reported blast incidents such as the Lincolnshire gas explosion. The model was validated against known and industry-accepted theoretical calculations as well as benchmarked for accuracy against previous LS-DYNA models. Normalised sensitivity ratios enable a direct comparison of output response proportionally against the change in input, providing design insights beyond just absolute yields. Our new findings reveal that thicker walls and higher-grade steel are the most effective blast resilience measures, whereas burial depth and ground type provide relatively minor value in comparison. This study supports practical design guidance in alignment with IGEM/TD/1 standards and establishes a valuable foundation for studies in this field, supporting the creation of further blast-resistant pipeline design in the future. Our study improves resilience against rare but catastrophic blast events, which is increasingly vital to ageing pipeline infrastructures and gas networks critical to energy security globally.