Pipeline damage caused by transient ground deformation: Case study of 2010 Darfield and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes

The main goal of this work was to derive repair rate (RR) values as related to transient ground deformations (TGD) during 2010 Darfield and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Pipeline distribution and repair rate in areas of TGD during the earthquakes was also presented. Derived data is compared and plotted against data for major historic earthquakes. Using standard statistical methods, it was shown that the derived data is within 95% prediction band of historic regressions. Furthermore, new regression was developed for combined variants of PVC pipes and compared to regressions for cast iron and asbestos cement main pipelines. Finally, it was found that combining PGV intervals is of value in deriving RR points where isolated PGV intervals contain insufficient pipeline length.