Volume 22, Issue 57, January - June, 2025

Evaluation of static slope stability methods, regarding areas with buried gas pipelines, sewerage and cable networks

Grigorios Papageorgiou¹, Evangelos Paschalis², Nikolaos Alamanis³, Theodoros Chrysanidis^4♦, Dimos Zahos⁵

¹Associate Professor, University of Thessaly, Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences and Design, Karditsa, Greece
²Technological Civil Engineer, M.Sc., Ph.D. Candidate at University of Thessaly, Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences and Design, Karditsa, Greece
³Associate Professor, University of Thessaly, Department of Agriculture – Agrotechnology, Larissa, Greece
⁴University of Thessaly, Department of Energy Systems, Larissa, Greece
⁵Freelancer Civil and Mechanical Engineer, MSc, Larissa, Greece

^♦Corresponding author
University of Thessaly, Department of Energy Systems, Larissa, Greece

ABSTRACT

Across the world, there are areas susceptible to slope instability, probably due to their slope angle. It is well-known that, unfortunately, a large number of natural gas pipelines, sewerage and cable networks pass underground through these aforementioned areas making them vulnerable due to the possible slope instability. Occurrences of ground slides may lead to soil rupture, where the aforementioned networks could be located, especially in areas subjected to largescale substructure projects, including foundations for buildings, highways, and railways, even large-scale infrastructure such as bridges and dams. On each slope, the difference in level and in slope inclination in combination with the gravitational forces and the possible presence of table water, eventually create shear stresses. Fortunately, these shear stresses are countered by the soil’s shear resistance. When the developing stresses overcome shear resistance, then they lead to a rupture of the slopes and finally to a landslide. The instability of slopes, leading to the displacement of soil mass downstream known as landslide, constitutes a significant risk to human (social, economic and travel) activities. Specifically, the slope instability could result to injury and loss of life and property destruction. Moreover, the landslides could produce ground displacement, leading to a critical situation for power supply and urban waste water networks, resulting in energy loss and complete failure. Designing large construction projects in urban and suburban areas focuses on evading locations that are most-susceptible to geohazards. This approach has generally been successful when there are limited restrictions on selecting a pipeline route.

Keywords: Sewerage Network; Slope Stability; Infrastructure Stability Assessment; Estimation Methodologies; Energy Pipeline Failure

Indian Journal of Engineering, 2025, 22(57), e6ije1696

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v22i57.e6ije1696

Published: 11 April 2025