| Title: |
Evaluation of the potential impact of wildfires on buried natural gas pipelines |
| Authors: |
Bernard, Dylan; Chanut, Clément; Blanchetiere, Vincent; Heymes, Frederic |
| Contributors: |
Laboratoire des Sciences des Risques (LSR); IMT MINES ALÈS; Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT); GRT Gaz; The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering (AIDIC); CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS |
| Source: |
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS A Publication of The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering ; Loss Prevention 2025 - 18th International Symposium on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industries ; https://imt-mines-ales.hal.science/hal-05114837 ; Loss Prevention 2025 - 18th International Symposium on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industries, The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering (AIDIC), Jun 2025, Bologne, Italy. pp.439-444, ⟨10.3303/CET25116074⟩ |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Subject Terms: |
Wildfire Impact; Risk; Pipelines; [SPI.GCIV.RISQ]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Civil Engineering/Risques; [SPI.MECA.THER]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Mechanics [physics.med-ph]/Thermics [physics.class-ph] |
| Subject Geographic: |
Bologne; Italy |
| Description: |
International audience ; This study assesses the potential impact of wildfires on buried natural gas pipelines, a key concern as wildfiresbecome more frequent and intense, particularly in regions where gas infrastructure intersects with wildfire-proneareas. The aim is to evaluate the thermal effects of the incident heat flux from wildfires on the soil above pipelinesand the soil temperature distribution. A simplified approach is used for rapid analysis based on hypothesesabout flame front geometry and soil thermal properties. A parametric study shows that even under worst-caseconditions (high incident heat flux and prolonged fire exposure), soil temperatures at the depth of the pipelineremain below critical thresholds. As a result, the current burial depth standards of 0.8 m provide significantprotection against hypothetical severe thermal damage from wildfires, reinforcing their continued effectivenessin safeguarding buried gas facilities in wildland fire-prone areas. This conclusion appears to be theoreticallyvalidated in scenarios where the maintenance strip is properly maintained. Further studies will be conducted toexamine the opposite situation, i.e., where no cleared maintenance strip is present. |
| Document Type: |
conference object |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.3303/CET25116074 |
| Availability: |
https://imt-mines-ales.hal.science/hal-05114837; https://imt-mines-ales.hal.science/hal-05114837v1/document; https://imt-mines-ales.hal.science/hal-05114837v1/file/074.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3303/CET25116074 |
| Rights: |
https://hal.science/licences/copyright/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.1876918F |
| Database: |
BASE |