A Report for the “Performance-based Earthquake Engineering Assessment Tool for Natural Gas Storage and Pipeline Systems” Project.
This report summarizes the methods and findings of a multi-year, multi-disciplinary project conducted by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC). The overall project is titled “Performance-based Earthquake Engineering Assessment Tool for Natural Gas Storage and Pipeline Systems,” henceforth referred to as the “OpenSRA Project.”
The overall goal of the OpenSRA project is to create an open-source research-based seismic risk assessment tool for natural gas infrastructure that utility stakeholders can use to understand state-wide risks better, prioritize mitigation, plan new gas infrastructure, and help focus post-earthquake repair work.
The project team includes researchers from LBNL, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, University of Nevada Reno, the NHERI SimCenter at UC Berkeley, and Slate Geotechnical Consultants and its subcontractors Lettis Consultants International and T.D. O’Rourke of Cornell University. Task Groups conducted focused research to advance the seismic risk assessment tool, each addressing a particular area of study and expertise and collaborating with the other Task Groups.
OpenSRA implements and updates current models addressing different forms of seismically induced ground deformation (e.g., fault rupture, liquefaction, and landsliding) and ground shaking. It quantifies resistance to deformation in buried pipelines, well heads, caprocks, and surficial elements, and then provides a framework for estimating the uncertainty in both the models and parameters. The software allows the end-user to utilize these models according to the resolution of the available data (i.e., state-wide, regional, or site-specific). The interface provides a visualization of the inputs (e.g., ground motion, and potential to liquefy) and outputs (risk of leaks/breaks) overlaid on different maps of California (e.g., satellite, topographic, and geologic). OpenSRA provides the industry with updated seismic demand and capacity models, an efficient calculation method, and user-friendly software.
Two-page summary: click here.
Download full report: click here.
Full List of PEER Reports: click here.
