Earthquake-induced permanent ground deformations are among the most important causes of damage to lifelines. Buried pipelines are longitudinal structures that are prone to be exposed to the faulting displacements. Improving the performance of these lifelines is of particular importance. This research numerically investigates the effect of a recently introduced wave feature (segments with rotational and axial flexibilities) on the behavior of buried pipes subjected to the displacement of the strike-slip faulting. Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element simulations were conducted in which the pipe and wave feature were modeled by shell element and peripheral soil was modeled by three-dimensional continuum elements. The accuracy of numerical simulations was examined by comparing the results with large-scale physical experiment. The comparison shows that the results of numerical modeling are in good agreement with experimental results. As an advantage of a calibrated numerical simulation, it is possible to extend the range of predictions and get the generalized response of the system in other geometrical and boundary conditions in which the experimental data are not available. In order to study the effect of the wave feature joint on the behavior of buried pipeline, the results were compared with a pipe with identical conditions in which the wave feature was not installed. It was found that wave feature substantially reduces the longitudinal forces and strains and preserves the cross-sectional area of the pipeline. Therefore, it considerably improves the performance of the pipe against faulting displacements.
