Optimum Design of Buried Pipeline Block Anchors

Husain Jubran Al-Gahtani1

Abstract: The paper presents a simple procedure for the optimum design of a pipeline block anchor. The forces exerted by the soil on
the block are computed using Rankine’s theory. The dimensioning of the block anchor is formulated as an optimization problem in which
the objective function is the volume of the block to be minimized. The optimization constraints are related to block sliding, block
overturning, and soil bearing capacity. The optimization problem is solved using Excel. Several examples are given to illustrate the steps
of the design procedure. Simple relationships between the thrust force and the minimum required block dimensions are generated.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1084-0680共2009兲14:4共190兲
CE Database subject headings: Optimization; Anchors; Pipeline design.
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Introduction Formulation

When a pipeline is put into operation, it will expand under the Analysis of Forces on the Block
influence of internal pressure and temperature gradient. The
Fig. 1 shows a free-body diagram of the considered rectangular
movement due to such expansion is significant for large diameter anchor block with all forces acting on it. Let us first define vari-
pipelines such as those carrying crude oil and gas. These pipes ous geometrical and material parameters and variables involved
need to be fully restrained at some points near some equipment/ in the analysis of the block.
structures such as well heads, pumps, pressure vessels, storage a. Dimensions
tanks, etc., in order to prevent the transmission of movement to • H: height of the block;
these sensitive equipment. Massive concrete block anchors are • W: width of the block;
commonly used to fully restrain the pipeline and resist the result- • B: thickness of the block;
ing high thrust force. The literature search by the writer shows • H P: level of the pipe; and
that a number of studies on the design of such special structures • C: soil cover.
are limited 共Watkins 2000; Sidqi 2005兲. Watkins 共2000兲 presented b. Material properties
• ␥c: unit weight of concrete;
a simplified iterative procedure for the design of cubical block
• ␥s: unit weight of soil;
anchor. Their procedure neglects the friction forces on the sides of • ␸: soil angle of internal friction
the block and the bearing capacity of the soil underneath the • ␮: coefficient of friction between concrete and soil;
block. Sidqi 共2005兲 studied the pullout capacity of block anchor • ka: active pressure coefficient= 共1 − sin ␪兲 / 共1 + sin ␪兲;
using experimental works and analytical calculation. The objec- • K p: passive pressure coefficient= 1 / ka; and
tive of this paper is to present a procedure for optimizing the • qal: allowable soil bearing pressure.
dimensions of massive block anchors. The procedure yields charts Based on Rankine theory, various forces acting on the block
and simplified formulas that can be easily used by practicing en- are calculated as follows:
gineers for determining the required block dimensions for a given 1. Forces acting on the front and back of the block 共Fa and F p兲.
pipe thrust force and material properties. The analysis of the These forces are due to active and passive pressures exerted
forces acting on the block is based on the well-known Rankin by soil on the block. They are given by
theory for modeling earth pressures 共George 1970兲. It should be Fa = ka␥sHW共C + 2 H兲
1
共1兲
noted that other more refined theories such as Coulomb’s and log
spiral 共Terzaghi et al. 1996兲 can be accommodated in the current F p = k p␥sHW共C + 2 H兲
1
共2兲
analysis. However, the uncertainty and approximation involved in
characterization of the soil properties and the block-soil interac- The line of action of each of the above forces is located at a
tion are so high that employing more accurate and complicated height HF which can be derived by integration. After simpli-
fication, the result is
theories is not justified.
H共3C + H兲
1 h= 共3兲
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, King Fahd Univ. of 3共2C + H兲
Petroleum and Minerals, KFUPM 800, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on June 14, 2006; approved on 2. Friction forces FRt, FRb, and FRs, on the top, bottom, and
November 18, 2008; published online on October 15, 2009. Discussion each side of the block, respectively, are given by
period open until April 1, 2010; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Practice Periodical on FRt = ␮␥sCBW 共4兲
Structural Design and Construction, Vol. 14, No. 4, November 1, 2009.
©ASCE, ISSN 1084-0680/2009/4-190–193/$25.00. FRb = ␮BW共␥sC + ␥cH兲 共5兲

190 / PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009

Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2009.14:190-193.

 R = F p − Fa + FRt + FRb + 2FRs 共7兲
Ws C
FRt Using Eqs. 共1兲, 共2兲, and 共4兲–共6兲 in Eq. 共7兲, we get
1
R = ␥sH共2C + H兲共Ka − K p兲W + B␮关2C␥s共HKa + W兲
Q Wc 2
H

Hp Fa FRs Fp + H共␥bHKa + ␥cW兲兴 共8兲

h
3. Vertical forces due to weights of the concrete block and soil
σ1 σ2 cover which are given by
FRb Wc = ␥cBWH 共9兲
B Ws = ␥sBWC 共10兲
Fig. 1. Forces acting on the block anchor
Design Constraints
The geometric design of the block must satisfy the following
conditions:
FRs = ␮ka␥sHB共C + 2 H兲 1. The block must be stable against sliding. This is guaranteed
1
共6兲
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if the net soil resistance R is greater than the thrust force Q.

It should be noted that the location of line of action of FRs is The ratio R / Q must be ⱖFSS, where FSS is the factor of
the same as that of Fa and F p. The net soil resistance R is safety against sliding. After simplification, this constraint
given by becomes

− H共2C + H兲W共− K p + Ka兲␥ S+2B␮关2C共W + HKa兲␥s + H共W␥ C+HKa␥s兲兴

ⱖ FSS 共11兲
2Q
2. The block must be stable against overturning. This constraint is satisfied if the resisting moment M R provided by the net soil
resistance and the weight of the block is greater than the overturning moment M o caused by the thrust force. After simplification, we
get
− H2共3C + H兲W共− K p + Ka兲␥ S+2BH␮关H2Ka + 3C共W + HKa兲兴␥s + 3B2W关共H␥ C+C␥s兲兴
ⱖ FSO 共12兲
6H PQ

where FSO= factor of safety against overturning. BHW␥c + BCW␥s

3. The bearing stress underneath the block must be less than the 0ⱕ ⫾ 共− 6H PFa + H兵− H共3C + H兲W
BW
allowable soil pressure qal, i.e.
⫻共− K p + Ka兲 + 2B␮关H2Ka + 3C共W + HKa兲兴其␥s兲 ⱕ qal
共17兲
0 ⱕ ␴ ⱕ qal 共13兲
where ␴ = bearing stress which is given by
Optimization of Block Dimensions

Ws + Wc 6共M R − M 0兲 Our objective is to determine the minimum block dimensions 共B,

␴= ⫾ 共14兲 H, and W兲 and the level of pipe 共H P兲, which are required to
WB WB2
anchor the pipe while satisfying the constraints given by the in-
where M o and M R = overturning and resistance moment, re- equalities in Eqs. 共11兲–共13兲. The optimization problem can be
spectively, which are given by solved using “Solver” tool of Excel. The optimization procedure
of this tool is well explained in many recent books on Excel. In
order to illustrate the procedure, let us assume the following prop-
M o = H PF a 共15兲 erties: ␥c = 23 kN/ m3, ␥s = 15 kN/ m3, ␸ = 30°, ␮ = 0.4, qal
= 150 kN/ m2, FSS = 1.25, and FSO = 1.5. As an example, let us
consider the block design for Q = 3 , 500 kN and soil cover C
1 = 1 m. Let us also put constraints on the minimum values of H,
M R = 兵− H2共3C + H兲W共− K p + Ka兲␥s + 2BH␮关H2Ka
6 B, and W that allow for pipe anchorage, reinforcement, etc., say
H ⬎ 1 m, B ⬎ 1 m, and W ⬎ 1 m. The Solver yields the follow-
+ 3C共W + HKa兲␥s + 3B2W共H␥c + C␥s兲兴其 共16兲
ing block dimensions: H = 1.47 m, B = 1.00 m, W = 34.30, and
After simplification, we get H p = 0.64 m so that the volume V = 50.33 m3. However, the value

PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009 / 191

Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2009.14:190-193.

 3.5
5.0

4.5 3.0

4.0
2.5
3.5 B (m)
C = 0.5 m
H (m) 3.0 2.0 C = 1.0 m
C = 0.5 m C = 1.5 m
2.5 C = 1.0 m C = 2.0 m
C =1.5 m 1.5 C = 2.5 m
2.0 C =2.0 m C = 3.0 m
C =2.5 m
1.5
C = 3.0 m 1.0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
1.0 H (m)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Q (MN) Fig. 4. Required pipe level H p versus block depth H

Fig. 2. Minimum required block depth H versus thrust force Q

B-H and H p-H relationships can be represented by linear equa-

of W is impractical. Therefore, we will repeat the calculations by
tions, as given in Table 1. In order to check the accuracy of these
imposing a maximum value of W = 3 H. The results become H
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relationships, let us repeat Example 1. In this case, the relation-

= 3.29 m, B = 2.05 m, W = 9.88 m, and H P = 1.31 m so that the
ships between the variables are
volume V = 66.6 m3. As a second example, let us design a cubical
block 共W = B = H兲 for the same force and soil cover assumed in
Example 1. The solver yields H = B = W = 4.66 m and H p H = 2.039 5Q0.378 9, B = 0.658 4H − 0.094
= 1.93 m. The volume in this case is 101.24 m3, which requires and H p = 0.382 8H + 0.053 5.
50% more concrete as compared to the rectangular block. As a
third example, consider the dimensioning of the block for a thrust Substituting for Q = 3 , 500 kN= 3.5 MN, we get H = 3.28 m.
force Q = 5 , 000 kN and soil cover CO = 1.5 m with the following Using this value of H, we get B = 2.06 m and H p = 1.31 m, which
properties: ␥c = 23 kN/ m3, ␥s = 15 kN/ m3, ␸ = 40°, ␮ = 0.45, qal are almost the same as those values obtained by Excel through its
= 120 kN/ m2, FSS = FSO = 2. The Solver yields H = 3.96 m, B solver package.
= 5.39 m, W = 7.92 m, and H p = 2.74 m with a volume V
= 168.99 m3. It should be noted that the same sheet can be used
for any other given data. Conclusions

Procedure for Generating Design Charts
and Equations
In the following, we will illustrate how one can generate simpli-
fied design charts and formulas for determining the minimum
block dimensions and the required pipe level H p for a given thrust
force F and soil cover C. Let us assume the following practical
properties: ␥c = 23 kN/ m3, ␥s = 15 kN/ m3, ␸ = 30°, ␮ = 0.4, qal
= 150 kN/ m2, FSS = 1.25, and FSO = 1.5. Let us fix the maximum
value of W to be 3 H. If we run Excel calculations for Q
= 1 , 000, 2,000,…10,000 kN and C = 0.5, 1, 1.5, …4 m and com-
pute the design variables H, B, W, and H P in each run, we can
generate the data shown in Figs. 2–4. After trying several poly-
nomial and power relationships, it has been found that the H-Q
relationship is best represented by simple power equations while
The paper presents an automated procedure for computing the
optimum dimensions of a pipe block anchor. The forces acting on
the block have been calculated based on the well-known Rankin
theory. Practical examples have been given to demonstrate the
proposed procedure. The parametric study has shown that the
height of the block is related to the thrust force through a power
equation while other dimensions are linearly proportional to the
depth of the block. Such relationships enable the engineer to de-
sign the block without performing the optimization analysis.
Acknowledgments
The writer would like to express his appreciation for King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals 共KFUPM兲 for their support.

2.0

Table 1. Design Equations for the Block Anchor Dimensions

1.5
Soil
Hp (m)
C = 0.5 m cover H-Q B-H H p-H
C =1.0 m C 共m兲 relationship relationship relationship
1.0 C =1.5 m
C =2.0 m
C = 2.5 m 0.5 H = 2.2775Q0.3563 B = 0.6227H − 0.2322 H p = 0.3612H + 0.0072
C =3.0 m
1.0 H = 2.0395Q0.3789 B = 0.6584H − 0.094 H p = 0.3828H + 0.0535
0.5
1.5 H = 1.8502Q0.3971 B = 0.7015H − 0.0179 H p = 0.4065H + 0.0649
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
H (m)
2.0 H = 1.6975Q0.4117 B = 0.7484H + 0.0207 H p = 0.4297H + 0.0617
2.5 H = 1.5722Q0.4233 B = 0.797H + 0.0369 H p = 0.4513H + 0.0529
Fig. 3. Required block length B versus block depth H 3.0 H = 1.4663Q0.4331 B = 0.8403H + 0.0576 H p = 0.4698H + 0.0467

192 / PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009

Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 2009.14:190-193.

 Notation W ⫽width of the block anchor;
Wb ⫽weight of the block anchor;
The following symbols are used in this paper: Ws ⫽weight of the soil cover;
B ⫽ length of block anchor; ␥c ⫽unit weight of concrete;
C ⫽ soil cover above the block anchor; ␥s ⫽unit weight of soil;
Fb ⫽ resultant force of soil passive pressure; ␮ ⫽coefficient of friction between concrete and
Fa ⫽ resultant force of soil active pressure; soil;
FRb ⫽ friction force at bottom of the block anchor; ␴ ⫽ soil pressure underneath the block anchor;
FRs ⫽ friction force on side of the block anchor; and
FRt ⫽ friction force on top of the block anchor; ␸ ⫽ soil angle of internal friction.
FSO ⫽ factor of safety against overturning;
FSS ⫽ factor of safety against sliding;
H ⫽ height of the block anchor; References
H P ⫽ level of restrained pipe;
h ⫽ location of line of action of active and George, F. S. 共1970兲. Introductory soil mechanics and foundations: Geo-
passive pressures;
technical engineering, 4th Ed., Macmillan, New York.
K p ⫽ passive pressure coefficient;
Sidqi, A. 共2005兲. “Pullout capacity of block anchor in sand.” MS thesis,
ka ⫽ active pressure coefficient;
King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
M O ⫽ overturning moment;
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by UNIVERSITE LAVAL on 07/08/14. For personal use only.

Terzaghi, K., Peck, R., and Mesri, G. 共1996兲. Soil mechanics in engineer-
M R ⫽ resisting moment;
ing practice, 3rd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Q ⫽ thrust force;
Watkins, R. K. and Anderson, L. R. 共2000兲. Structural mechanics of
qal ⫽ allowable soil bearing pressure;
buried pipes, CRC, Boca Raton, Fla.
R ⫽ net soil resistance;

PRACTICE PERIODICAL ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION © ASCE / NOVEMBER 2009 / 193

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