Abstract
Air pockets entrapped in pipeline systems are required to be non-intrusively diagnosed by fluid transients. In this study, experimental investigations are used to compare the transient transmission and reflection effects of stationary inline and offline air pocket volumes along a pipe under zero base flow conditions. Comparison with theoretical modeling indicated that the difference in the transient response between the two configurations is primarily due to the inertia in the connecting water column associated with offline air pockets. This means that the transient response depends on both the volume of the pocket and the dimensions of the cavity. Analysis in the frequency domain showed that the offline air pocket may be characterized by the resonant frequency, at which reflection is maximized, while the inline pocket is characterized by a cutoff frequency above which there is little reflection. The damping of the transient signal may also be used to diagnose air, as the presence of air increases the damping rate by a factor of 3–4.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Hong Kong Research Grants Council for the theme-based research scheme Grant No. T21-602/15R for supporting this research.
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Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 12 • December 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 13, 2020
Accepted: Jul 10, 2020
Published online: Oct 7, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 7, 2021
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