Pipeline Experiment at Parkfield, California

Keywords: Pipelines, Seismic Performance, and Ground Motion.

Abstract: Welded steel and ductile iron pipeline segments have been constructed at Owens Pasture near Parkfield, California, in anticipation of a Magnitude 6.0 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. Strain gauges attached to the welded steel segments will provide data for assessing current design approaches at fault crossings. Relative rotation and extension transducers at the joints of ductile iron pipe will indicate how the fault offset is accommodated by joint movement. The present experiment is being closely coordinated with the earthquake project of the US Geological Survey.