Analysis of vertical pressure on buried pipeline with case study

This paper introduces a formula for the vertical pressure on a buried pipeline by using a modification of the basic assumptions of Marston’s theory. The fill’s cohesion is considered. The included angle between the slide surface above the pipeline and the horizontal surface is assumed to be equal to the fill’s angle of friction. The friction is calculated by multiplying the active earth pressure on the outer column and the coefficient of the friction on the slide planes It was found that the fill’s cohesion had important influence on the vertical pressure, whose vertical pressure C c decreases with increase of the fill depth, a relationship according with that observed in practice. At the end of the paper, the formula is employed to analyze a practical case.