Predicting the Probability of Failure of Cementitious Sewer Pipes Using Stochastic Finite Element Method

Amir M. Alani and Asaad Faramarzi
Additional contact information
Amir M. Alani: School of Computing and Technology, University of West London, 8th Floor, Villiers House, Ealing Broadway, London W5 2PA, UK
Asaad Faramarzi: School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: In this paper, a stochastic finite element method (SFEM) is employed to investigate the probability of failure of cementitious buried sewer pipes subjected to combined effect of corrosion and stresses. A non-linear time-dependant model is used to determine the extent of concrete corrosion. Using the SFEM, the effects of different random variables, including loads, pipe material, and corrosion on the remaining safe life of the cementitious sewer pipes are explored. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the merit of the proposed SFEM in evaluating the effects of the contributing parameters upon the probability of failure of cementitious sewer pipes. The developed SFEM offers many advantages over traditional probabilistic techniques since it does not use any empirical equations in order to determine failure of pipes. The results of the SFEM can help the concerning industry (e.g., water companies) to better plan their resources by providing accurate prediction for the remaining safe life of cementitious sewer pipes.

Keywords: stochastic finite element method; cementitious sewer pipe; probability of failure; concrete corrosion; random variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/6/6641/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/6/6641/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:6:p:6641-6656:d:50975

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().