Identification of sensitivity factors for flood-damage risks on trench slopes of long-distance natural gas pipelines

To identify sensitivity factors for flood-damage risks on trench slopes of long-distance natural gas pipelines scientifically and accurately and to establish solid foundations for policy-making with regard to prevention and controlling of flood damages of pipelines, techniques for identification of sensitivity factors for flood-damage risks on trench slopes of gas-transmission pipelines have been proposed. With consideration to specific features of flood damages of slopes, the identification process can be divided into three basic steps: background analysis, preliminary analysis and detailed analysis. During background analysis, principles for clarification of area to be identified shall be given; the preliminary analysis shall be dominated by key sectors involving data acquisition and site surveys; during the detailed analysis stage, fault tree for failure of slopes shall be established to identify sensitivity factors for flood-damage risks of slopes. Research results show that a staged identification method can be used to identify sensitivity factors for existing and potential risks related to flood damages of slopes for long-distance natural gas pipelines comprehensively and systematically.