Experimental Evidence of Hysteresis in the Head-Discharge Relationship for a Leak in a Polyethylene Pipe
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 7
Abstract
The relationship between leak outflow from a damaged pipe and flow condition inside the pipe plays a crucial role in pressurized pipe systems management. As an example, this relationship is used in leakage reduction techniques based on pressure control and in leak detection techniques based on inverse analysis. To explore the relationship between total head inside the pipe and leak outflow for a single leak in a polyethylene pipe, tests were carried out at the Water Engineering Laboratory of the University of Perugia. These tests point out that the viscoelastic nature of the pipe material gives rise to a hysteretic behavior of the investigated relationship, i.e., the outflow depends not only on the synchronous total head but also on the total head time history and variation rate.
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Acknowledgments
This research has been supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) under the Project of Relevant National Interest “Innovative criteria for the sustainable management of water resources in the water distribution systems.” The help of Federico Cluni, Massimiliano Gioffrè, and Vittorio Gusella for the strain gauge measurements is acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 7 • July 2011
Pages: 775 - 780
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2010
Accepted: Nov 5, 2010
Published online: Nov 11, 2010
Published in print: Jul 1, 2011
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