Seismic Damage Estimation for Buried Pipelines: Challenges after Three Decades of Progress

This paper analyzes the evolution over the past three decades of seismic damage estimation for buried pipelines and identifies some challenges for future research studies on the subject. The first section of this paper presents a chronological description of the evolution since the mid-1970s of pipeline fragility relations-the most common tool for pipeline damage estimation-and follows with a careful analysis of the use of several ground motion parameters as pipeline damage indicators. In the second section of the paper, four gaps on the subject are identified and proposed as challenges for future research studies. The main conclusion of this work is that enhanced fragility relations must be developed for improving pipeline damage estimation, which must consider relevant parameters that could influence the seismic response of pipelines.