Characterization of muskeg soils for soil-pipe interaction analysis – Some preliminary findings

ABSTRACT: Muskeg soil is geo-material that possess low density, stiffness, and strength, which could lead to concerns for pipelines placed in these soils. For example, buckling caused by thermally-induced large deformations in pipelines buried in muskeg (organic) soils is identified as concern of stress concentration due to the low restraint between the pipe and the surrounding soil at locations of pipe direction changes such as bends. Engineering design of buried pipelines in such materials is challenging due to a lack of understanding of the mechanical behavior of the organic soil itself. In turn, this lack of understanding has led to the absence of solid design guidelines for assessing soil-pipe interaction in organic soils in the current practice. As a part of a research program undertaken to advance the knowledge on this subject, a range of geotechnical field investigations including seismic cone penetration testing (SCPTu), ball penetrometer testing (BCPT), electronic field vane shear test (eVST), and full displacement pressuremeter testing (PMT) were undertaken at a muskeg soil site. This paper presents the initial findings from the completed work.