Yiannis Tsompanakis

Technical University of Crete | TUC · School of Environmental Engineering

Onshore high - pressure gas pipelines constitute critical infrastructure that usually cross seismic - prone regions and are vulnerable to Permanent Ground Deformations (PGDs) due to active seismic faults. In design, it may not be feasible to avoid fault rupture areas due to various technical, economical and topographic reasons. Moreover, the presen...

Submarine lifelines (pipelines and cables) often cross areas characterized by earthquake-related geohazards (tectonic faulting, landslides and seabed liquefaction). Avoiding geologically hazardous areas increases the length (i.e., cost), whereas a potential crossing may detrimentally affect the structural performance of the infrastructure, requirin...

Large-scale lifelines in seismic-prone regions very frequently cross areas that are characterized by active tectonic faulting, as complete avoidance might be techno-economically unfeasible. The resulting Permanent Ground Displacements (PGDs) constitute a major threat to such critical infrastructure. The current study numerically investigates the cr...

Background Offshore lifelines (i.e., pipelines and cables) are usually vulnerable to seabed deformations induced by earthquake-triggered geohazards, such as submarine landslides, soil liquefaction, and tectonic faulting. Since the complete avoidance of all areas characterized by offshore geohazards is not always techno-economically feasible, optima...

Base isolation of liquid storage tanks has proven to be an efficient seismic protection measure, leading to a drastic reduction of a superstructure’s distress. However, many such tanks are located near seismic tectonic faults, which generate strong pulse-like ground motions that can impose excessive displacement demands on the isolators. For this r...

Significant developments have been made, in the last few decades, to provide more accurate and reliable design methods for structures, infrastructures and foundations, particularly, when subjected to dynamic (mainly seismic) actions. Numerical methods have played a major role in these advances. Nevertheless, their remarkable potential should be bro...

Οι αυξημένες ενεργειακές ανάγκες παγκοσμίως έχουν οδηγήσει στην ευρεία ανάπτυξη Δικτύων Κοινής Ωφέλειας (ΔΚΩ), όπως αγωγών φυσικού αερίου υψηλής πίεσης. Τα ΔΚΩ συνήθως διασχίζουν εκτεταμένες υποθαλάσσιες περιοχές που χαρακτηρίζονται από σεισμικούς γεωκινδύνους (ενεργά σεισμικά ρήγματα, αστάθεια πρανών και ρευστοποίηση πυθμένα). Μέχρι πρότινος, η χά...

Large-scale tanks are widely used for storing chemicals and fuels. Their failure due to natural (e.g., earthquakes) and/or man-made hazards can lead to disastrous consequences. Nonetheless, they are often constructed in seismic-prone regions. For this reason, base isolation is often used for the seismic protection of large tanks, aiming to “decoupl...

The seismic design of new retaining structures is usually performed following modern seismic norms. Nonetheless, there are various monumental retaining structures (e.g., fortifications) with high seismic vulnerability, which must be protected against earthquakes, while there exist several limitations on the type of mitigation measures that can be a...

Dynamic soil response and dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI) play an important role on the seismic response and distress of all engineering structures. The role of soil response and DSSI can be either beneficial or detrimental depending on the relationship between the dynamic characteristics of: (a) the seismic excitation(s) at the seismic b...

Offshore and onshore natural gas pipelines constitute critical facilities that often cross seismic prone regions, thus, they are exposed to earthquake-induced Permanent Ground Displacements (PGDs). The excessive PGDs that are often developed in the vicinity of a fault scarp may affect pipeline integrity and safe functioning. On the other hand, the...

Large tanks are extensively used for storing water, petrochemicals and fuels. Since they are often cited in earthquake-prone areas, the safe and continuous operation of these important structures must be ensured even when severe earthquakes occur, since their failure could have devastating financial and socio-environmental consequences. Base isolat...

The detrimental impact of vibrations on adjacent reinforced concrete (RC) buildings due to high-speed train (HST) passage is investigated in this work. For this purpose, an elaborate numerical model, initially validated with free-field data, has been developed. Subsequently, a 4-story RC building is added at varying distances from track to assess t...

Fault rupture is a complex phenomenon and substantial secondary ruptures have been observed. Such ruptures may cause damage to pipelines laying in the vicinity of main faults without intersecting them. The current study investigates numerically the response of buried steel pipelines crossing secondary faults, following a decoupled approach. Initial...

This study develops a comprehensive seismic risk model for the city of Chania, in Greece, which is located ina highly seismic-prone region due to the occurrenceof moderate to large earthquakes because of the nearby major subduction zone between African and Eurasian tectonic plates. The main aim is to reduce the seismic risk for the study area by in...

High-pressure gas pipelines extend for hundreds of kilometers, often crossing highly destructive geohazardous areas, e.g., seismic fault zones. Permanent ground displacements (PGDs) due to fault rupture can be a severe threat to pipelines, thus, it is preferable to avoid crossing such areas. Nevertheless, when this is not technically/financially fe...

The increasing urban development in seismic-prone regions, in conjunction with the continuous construction of large-scale lifelines (i.e., road and railway networks, pipelines, etc.) has increased the risk of potential damages due to permanent displacements at the ground surface that can be caused by an earthquake fault rupture. Several recent eart...

During the recent decades, the use of pipelines for the transmission of hydrocarbons from the source points (e.g., deposits, gasification stations, etc.) to industrial and civil centers of consumption has been increased. Such pipelines are critical infrastructures that may extend for hundreds of kilometers, often crossing highly destructive geohaza...

The seismic design of new retaining structures is usually performed following modern seismic norms. Nonetheless, there are various monumental retaining structures (e.g., fortifications) with high seismic vulnerability, which must be protected against earthquakes, while there are several limitations on the type of mitigation measures that can be app...

Over the last years, a rapid growth of high-speed railways (HSR) has been observed in many countries. Due to the increased operational speed, a major side-effect of this growth is the high levels of imposed traffic-induced vibrations by high-speed trains (HST). Hence, when HSR are cited or planned to be constructed near to “sensitive” structures (e...

In seismic-prone regions the seismic design of onshore and/or offshore gas pipelines is of paramount importance. One of the main earthquake-related geohazards that may induce excessive permanent ground displacements to a gas pipeline is active seismic faults that can lead to severe rock and soil dislocations up to the ground surface. Therefore, in...

Large-scale liquid storage tanks are used worldwide for storing water, chemicals and fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil. Any major damage due to man-made or natural hazards, such as earthquakes, to these critical infrastructures would cause serious socio-economical losses and devastating environmental consequences. Moreover, they sh...

The fast expansion of high-speed railways (HSR) during the last decades can be attributed to their advantages (e.g., financial, technical, and environmental) compared to other transportations means. In recent years, many engineers in the fields of aerodynamics and motor technology investigate the creation of high-speed trains (HST) capable of devel...

The vibrations induced by the passage of high-speed trains (HSTs) are considered a crucial issue in the field of environmental and geotechnical engineering. Several wave barriers have been investigated to reduce the detrimental effects of HST-induced vibrations. This study is focused on the potential implementation of an innovative mitigation techn...

Ground-borne vibrations due to high-speed trains passage strongly depend, apart from the speed of the train, on the geometry of the railways as well as the properties of the underlying soil layer(s). The main aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of expanded polystyrene (EPS) blocks in mitigating soil vibrations induced on railway e...

Although Cuckoo Search (CS) is a quite new nature-inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithm, it has been extensively used in engineering applications, since it has been proven very efficient in solving complex nonlinear problems. In this paper, efficient modifications have been made to the original CS algorithm to enhance its efficiency and rob...

In general, soil-structure interaction phenomena affect considerably the dynamic response of liquid-storage tanks. As it is also observed in the case of ordinary structures, the ground motion transmitted to the superstructure can be amplified (or even de-amplified) due to the presence of the underlying soil layer(s), modifying in parallel the reson...

Offshore lifelines, such as gas pipelines and cables, consist large-scale and very important engineering projects, while their safe operation is undoubtedly a challenging task. Offshore lifelines usually cross submarine areas facing various offshore geohazards, which are very often related (directly or indirectly) with local seismicity. Therefore,...

Deep water offshore pipelines are usually directly laid on the seabed, a fact that makes them vulnerable to geohazards, such as submarine landslides and debris flows. The intersection angle between the pipeline and the moving sediments can vary taking into account the pipeline route and the unstable nature of deep seabed. The aim of the current stu...

Offshore natural gas pipelines are critical infrastructures extending for hundreds of kilometers under highly adverse and uncertain conditions. Geohazards, such as debris flows or landslides, consist crucial threats for such pipeline networks, while a serious damage can have devastating financial and environmental consequences. Generally, the asses...

The main aim of this work is to present an efficient mitigation measure of ground vibrations induced by high-speed trains (HST). It is very important to propose such mitigation measures against soil vibrations due to various negative impacts to the population, structures, as well as railway infrastructure. This study examines the application of exp...

Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζεται η δυναμική αλληλεπίδραση μεταλλικών δεξαμενών με το έδαφος λαμβάνοντας υπόψη διαφορετικές συνθήκες θεμελίωσης και σεισμικών διεγέρσεων. Για τον σκοπό αυτό χρησιμοποιούνται ρεαλιστικά προσομοιώματα πεπερασμένων στοιχείων, ενώ η απόκριση μελετάται μέσω της καθ’ ύψος μεταβολής των επιταχύνσεων και φαινομένων ολίσθησης/α...

Μεγάλες δεξαμενές χρησιμοποιούνται ευρέως για την αποθήκευση νερού, χημικών, υγροποιημένου φυσικού αερίου και πετρελαίου. Πιθανή αστοχία από ανθρωπογενείς ή φυσικές καταστροφές, όπως είναι οι σεισμοί, σε αυτά τα κρίσιμα έργα υποδομής μπορεί να προκαλέσει σοβαρά προβλήματα και να έχει δυσμενείς επιπτώσεις στην οικονομία, στο περιβάλλον και στον πληθ...

Οι υπεράκτιοι αγωγοί φυσικού αερίου αποτελούν έργα υψηλής σπουδαιότητας, καθώς πιθανές βλάβες ενδέχεται να έχουν καταστροφικές περιβαλλοντικές και οικονομικές συνέπειες. Μία από τις σημαντικότερες απειλές που καλούνται να αντιμετωπίσουν είναι οι σεισμικοί γεωκίνδυνοι, δηλαδή οι δυναμικές (σεισμικά κύματα) και κινηματικές καταπονήσεις (π.χ., κατολισ...

Offshore pipelines are critical infrastructures and any possible damage may have devastating financial and environmental consequences. Earthquake-related geohazards (such as strong ground motion, active seismic faults, submarine landslides and debris flows) consist crucial threats that an offshore pipeline has to overcome. The main aim of the curre...

The fast expansion of high-speed railways (HSR) during the last decades can be attributed to their advantages (e.g., financial, technical and environmental) compared to other transportations means. In recent years, many engineers in the fields of aerodynamics and motor technology investigate the creation of high-speed trains (HST) capable of develo...

Liquid-filled tanks are important infrastructure for the storage of water, chemicals and fuels, such as oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Many such large-scale tanks are located in regions with high seismicity. Therefore, very frequently base isolation technology has to be implemented to reduce the dynamic distress of the superstructure. In stru...

Liquid-filled tanks are effective storage infrastructure for water, oil, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Many such large-scale tanks are located in regions with high seismicity. Therefore, very frequently base isolation technology has to be adopted to reduce the dynamic distress of storage tanks, preventing the structure from typical modes of fail...

The Mini-Symposium "Recent advances and challenges in geotechnical earthquake engineering" will offer an opportunity for the presentation and discussion on several geotechnical earthquake engineering issues. All those involved with computational mechanics, related to geotechnical earthquake engineering, are welcome to present their recent experienc...

Large-scale liquid storage tanks are used worldwide for storing chemicals, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil. Any possible damage from man-made or natural hazards, such as earthquakes, to these critical infrastructures would cause serious problems and devastating consequences. Moreover, they should remain functional even after a severe earthquake...

The technological advances and the continuous rise of energy needs have increased the use of natural gas, which is one of the main energy sources of the 21 st century. Consequently, the exploitation of offshore natural gas deposits is constantly increasing and it is expected to develop further in certain regions, such as in SouthEastern Mediterrane...

The main aim of this work is to investigate the seismic vulnerability of traditional masonry buildings, taking into account the impact of dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI). More specifically, the dynamic response of a typical unreinforced masonry (URM) building constructed over a silty sand layer is examined. The main novelty of the present...

Hybrid optimization schemes have been used in many engineering applications over the last decades. In particular, by combining two or more algorithms, the main aim of hybrid optimizers is to alleviate the drawbacks and maximize their efficiency and accuracy of standard approaches. In this manner, a substantial improvement of original algorithms per...

Natural gas is undoubtedly one of the main energy sources of our era with increasing demand and continuous exploitation of new onshore and offshore deposits. The transportation of natural gas to the urban and industrial centers is frequently accomplished via large-scale pipeline networks. These networks often consist of offshore parts, placed on th...

The present study investigates the impact of the soil saturation level on the performance of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings when subjected to seismic excitations. More specifically, this paper examines the dynamic response of an ordinary stone-built URM building, firstly in its initial state and subsequently when it is slightly retrofitted wi...

Liquid fuels tanks are effective storage infrastructure for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Many such large-scale tanks are located in regions with high seismicity. Therefore, very frequently base isolation technology has to be adopted to reduce the dynamic distress of storage tanks, preventing the structure from typical modes of failure, such...

The present study investigates the impact of the soil saturation level on the performance of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings when subjected to seismic excitations. More specifically, this study examines the dynamic response of an ordinary URM building, firstly in its initial state with wooden lintels and wooden beams to support floors, and sub...

Nowadays natural gas is one of the main energy sources and pipeline networks are vital for its exploitation. These networks consist of offshore and onshore pipelines, which may extend hundreds of kilometres and often need to be placed on the deep water seabed under very adverse conditions. The importance of such pipeline networks is indisputable, s...

Liquid storage tanks are essential infrastructure for storing oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which are often located in seismic prone areas. For this reason, base isolation devices are extensively used to reduce dynamic distress of such tanks, avoiding typical forms of failure such as elephant-foot buckling, diamond-shaped buckling and roof d...

Hydrocarbons are undoubtedly the main energy source of the twenty-first century. Over the last decades the increase in energy needs has led to the exploitation of an increasing number of offshore natural gas deposits. Typically, the long distances between natural gas deposits and urban and industrial centres necessitate the use of offshore pipeline...

1. Abstract In this paper a robust and efficient methodology is presented for treating large-scale reliability-based, structural optimization problems under seismic loads using the pushover analysis method. The optimization problem is solved with the Evolution Strategies method, while the reliability analysis is carried out with the Monte Carlo sim...

The electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique makes use of surface-bonded lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patches as impedance transducers measuring impedance variations monitored on host structural components. The present experimental work further evaluate an alternative to the conventional EMI technique which performs measurements of the variati...

Hydrocarbons are undoubtedly the main energy source of the twenty-first century. Typically, the long distances between natural gas deposits and urban and industrial centers necessitate the use of high-pressure onshore and/or offshore pipelines. Such pipelines are very important infrastructure and any possible damage due to natural or man-made hazar...

The present study is focused on seismic vulnerability assessment and retrofitting of typical reinforced concrete (RC) buildings that were designed and constructed according to the common practice and simplistic provisions in 60's and 70's in Greece as well as in other seismic prone European countries. For this purpose, the characteristic SPEAR buil...

Abstract In this study, a structural health monitoring approach that integrates both electromechanical admittance (EMA) and guided wave (GW) techniques is presented. More specifically, the EMA technique is used for local damage identification, by employing a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) as admittance sensor. Simultaneously, the same admittance se...

The transportation of hydrocarbons to Central and Northern Europe is currently being performed by high-pressure onshore pipelines coming mainly from Central Asia. In the next decades the increased demand for energy in European countries will undoubtedly require the smooth and safe transfer of hydrocarbons from the East Mediterranean, Middle East an...

Over recent decades increased research interest has been observed on the dynamic response and stability issues of earth walls and reinforced soil structures. The current study aims to provide an insight into the dynamic response of reinforced soil structures and the potential of the geosynthetics to prevent the development of slope instability taki...

In this study the kinematic soil–foundation interaction problem for a massless surface strip footing retained by a wall is examined. Transfer functions for horizontal, vertical and rocking response of the foundation are evaluated via two different approaches that utilize the finite element method. Satisfactory agreement is shown to exist between th...

Despite the structural simplicity of retaining walls and bridge abutments, their seismic behavior is rather complicated as they comprise structural systems that include soil and structures that interact with each other [1,2]. Nevertheless, seismic norms worldwide treat most of the retaining structures in a very simplistic way, making thus their sei...

During strong earthquakes one of the main hazards of geosynthetically reinforced soil slopes is the accumulation of permanent deformations. For this purpose, the current study aims at assessing the seismic response of reinforced soil structures, by calculating the seismic displacements via dynamic analyses of simple coupled single degree of freedom...

Seismic base isolation, which is typically performed using friction pendulum and/or lead rubber bearings, is an efficient building and bridge protection system against earthquake hazard that achieves seismic energy mitigation by decoupling the structure from its foundation. Numerous numerical and experimental studies have been conducted on this top...

The majority of concrete dams worldwide have behaved relatively well during seismic events. However, there are several cases where global failure or substantial damages have occurred. The need for new dam construction and retrofitting of existing dams necessitates the use of advanced design approaches that can take realistically into account the po...

Seismic design of waste landfills has been a subject of intense research over the past two decades, primarily due to the severe environmental impact of a potential failure. The majority of the related studies have been focused on the stability assessment of landfills utilizing permanent deformation methods. However, previous investigations have not...

A very important issue in the seismic design of waste landfills is the role of the base liner, which is placed at the foundation of a landfill prior to waste disposal in order to isolate waste material and leachate from the environment. Consequently, a low shear strength interface is introduced in the system, providing thus the potential for the de...

Typically, seismic analysis of large-scale geostructures, such as embankments, is performed by means of deterministic pseudostatic slope stability methods, where a safety factor based approach is adopted. However, probabilistic seismic fragility analysis can be a more efficient and realistic approach for interpreting more accurately the seismic per...