Analytical solution to interaction between pipelines and soils under arbitrary loads

A kind of closed-form analytical solution to the interaction between pipelines and soils induced by nearby excavation process is presented. It is suitable for describing any kinds of displacement profile caused by various excavation processes, including tunnels, trenches and many other excavation projects. As the typical application, the effects on pipelines of ground settlement induced by tunneling are evaluated by the proposed analytical solutions and computer techniques. The analytical results are compared with finite element method solutions based on ABAQUS PSI elements, which are proved to be effective and convenient to describe the interaction between pipelines and nearby soils. There is very good agreement between the suggested closed-form solution and FEM results. The efficiency of the proposed closed-form analytical solution is validated.