A Novel Safety Early Warning Methodology for Pipelines under Landslide Geological Hazard

Abstract

Pipelines serve as a crucial infrastructure for long-distance and cost-efficient transportation of oil and gas resources. The safety and reliability of oil and gas pipelines crossing mountainous areas, however, are susceptible to rainfall-induced landslides. Landslide-induced pipeline leakage or fracture may result in the release of oil and gas, causing resource waste and environmental contamination as well as casualties. To date, user-friendly and comprehensive methods for early warning about pipeline safety issues under landslides are scarce. The present study develops a novel early warning degree (EWD)-based safety early warning framework for oil and gas pipelines subjected to landslides, including three monitoring indexes of disaster-inducing bodies, disaster-causing bodies, and disaster-bearing bodies. The use of an improved fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method determines the weight of each index. The hybrid application of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation approach and three-dimensional (3D) space method is used to develop the 3D early warning matrix. The matrix finally integrates an improved radar chart technique to estimate EWD-based early warning intervals. The proposed framework has been implemented through a case study on an in-service pipeline, demonstrating its capability to improve the safety of oil and gas pipelines traversing landslide-prone areas, and enhance the resilience of pipelines against landslides.