HUSAIN M.

AL-MUSLIM
NADHIR I. AL-NASRI
Outline
 Introduction
 Sabkha area
 Road crossing
 Bend design
 Anchor blocks
 Conclusion
Saudi Aramco Pipeline Network
TURA
DAN
JOR

IF
QAISUM
AH SAFANIY

AR UL
AH TANAJIB

G
AB F
IA
ABU-
HADRIYAH ABU-ALI

N
KHURSANI JUBAIL
YAH JUBAIL
CUSTOMERS
BERRI
CRUDE NETWORK TUFA Ras Tanoura
JJ
IH
GAS Network
Product Network QATIF BAHRAIN
DHAHRA
N

RIYADH
ABQAIQ
Southern Areas QATAR
Type of Pipeline Installation
 Above ground unrestrained pipeline
 Above ground fully restrained pipeline
 Under ground restrained pipeline
Sabkha area
 Sabkha means area of high-level water table
 The water is very salty and highly corrosive
 The pipe must not come in contact with water
 Special pad design and sequence of
construction
Sabkha pad design
Sabkha sequence of construction
 Prepare the construction pad
 Excavate the trench
 Lower the pipe and backfill
 Construct the pipe berm
Sabkha area
Construction of ROW and pad

Pad
RO W
ar ea
bk h a
Sa
e li ne p ad
Pip

p ad
R O W
Preparing the trench
Lowering the pipe and backfilling
Constructing the berm
Stabilizing the berm
Road crossing
Loads on Pipelines

Live Load

Earth Load

Internal Load

Total Load on Pipeline = Live load + Earth load + Internal Loads

Minimum Depth of Cover

Road (1.2 m)
Minimum depth
below ditch (0.9 m) Railroad (1.7 m )

Drainage ditch

Minimum depth
Carrier pipe below surface

Figure 1: Road Crossing

Stresses vs. depth of cover
15000
D/t = 50
14000 D/t = 60
D/t = 70
13000 D/t = 80
D/t = 90
Absolute maximum stress (psi)

12000
D/t = 100
11000
D/t = 110.1
D/t = 120
10000 D/t = 129.9
D/t = 139.9
9000 D/t = 150
8000

7000

6000

5000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Depth of cover (ft)
Absolute maximum stress variation for 60 inch pipe diameter and high density sabkha as native soil
Analysis of Pipeline Under Road & Railroads
Methodologies

 Crossi (two versions)

 Based on the API RP1102, 1968 edition
 Cornell/GRI developed PC-PISCESL software
 Included in the 1993 edition of API RP1102, Steel Pipelines Crossing
Railroads and Highways”
 Limitations
○ 2 ≤ D ≤ 42
○ 12.5 ≤ D/t ≤ 100
○ 3 ft ≤ Backfill Height ≤ 10 ft
 Pipeline toolbox
 Aramco Study (Analysis and Design for Buried Pipeline. ADBP)
 Limitations
50 ≤ D/t ≤ 150
Extended Study
12 ≤ D/t ≤ 150
ADBP 2.0
Minimizing The Pipeline Stresses
Under Crossings
 Installing concrete slab.
 Increasing the depth of cover.
 Increasing the pipeline wall thickness.
 Reinforcing the pipeline with sleeve.
Pipeline bends
 Elastic bend
 Cold bend
 Hot bend
Bend design
 The standard design is 210 m radius bend
 Smaller radii required calculation and/or
thrust anchors
 Design was optimized by numerical
analysis
Bend analysis model
Pipe Bend

A
Rb θ Rb

D = Diameter of the pipe

Hc

t = Thickness of the pipe

t Hc = Depth of cover
D Rb = Radius of the bend
θ = Angle of the bend
Section - AA
Thrust anchor
 Full thrust without considering soil friction
 Large size anchor blocks
 Block size was reduced significantly
Thrust anchors construction
Thrust anchor new software
 Analysis and Design of Thrust Anchor
Blocks (ADTAB)
 Size Optimization of Thrust Anchor
Blocks (SOPTAB)
Conclusion
 Saudi Aramco standards are dynamic to
capture
 Lessons learned from projects
 Industry best practices
 Company funded research projects
Typical Pipeline Construction
Activities
 Route Surveying
 Mobilizing equipment and personnel
 Transporting and storing pipe and materials
 Topsoil stripping (as required)
 Grading
 Stringing (transport and laying of pipe on the ROW)
 Welding, ultrasonic, and NDE of welds
 Installing coating at the pipe joints
 Trenching
 Lowering pipe into the trench
 Installing crossings
 Backfilling
 Restoring the ROW
 Clearing and Grading Trenching

ROW Grading Survey Rock

Rock-Free Trenching Padding
Acquisition Cut and fills
Drilling Blasting

Stringing Welding / Coating Lowering-in

Stringing Coating Lowering-in Tie-ins

Welding NDT

Backfill Berming /stabilizing

Berm Stabilizing
Backfill
Road crossing concrete slab
Casing Requirements
 Casing is required only for railroads.
 Casing minimum wall thickness per table -3
 Casing diameter ≥ 2 size larger than carrier pipe
 Insulators/spacers shall be installed
 Casing ends shall be sealed
 Vents/drains are not mandatory
Road crossing analysis model
18 m

4 m
D

1.2 min 2.0 max

H
6T 13 T 10 T 10 T

t i
Scope of SAES-L-460
 This standard defines the minimum design and
installation requirements governing pipeline
crossings under roads, parking lots, railroads,
and airport runways.
 This standard applies to pipelines in all
services.
 This standard supplements the latest edition of
API RP 1102 “Steel Pipelines Crossing
Railroads and Highways.”
 Additional requirements imposed by the Saudi
Arabian Government shall apply to crossings
of Government roads and railroads.