Optimized seismic risk mitigation in pipeline routing using a metaheuristic GIS based approach

Abstract

Seismic damage to gas pipelines can result in severe human, financial, and environmental impacts. A key strategy to mitigate these risks is incorporating regional seismic vulnerabilities into pipeline route design. Traditional methods often focus solely on minimizing distance from faults, overlooking the broader seismic hazard context. This paper presents a novel pipeline routing method that integrates probabilistic seismic risk assessment, incorporating primary consequences such as pipeline leakage and breakage, with a metaheuristic optimization algorithm within a GIS-based framework. The approach is applied to buried gas pipeline routing in the earthquake-prone region of southern Iran. The newly designed routes are compared to traditional designs, considering pipeline length, seismic exposure, and potential damage costs. Results demonstrate a reduction in physical damage risks and highlight the approach’s effectiveness in enhancing the resilience of pipeline infrastructure. This approach allows for a numerical incorporation of seismic risk into the routing of pipeline process, representing a significant improvement over the existing descriptive method.