Numerical modelling of pressure transients in Hunter Water to predict critical pipe failure
Overview
Internal and external factors, which contribute to pipe failures, have been studied extensively during this research project. Internal pressure was identified as the most critical loading to cause high stresses in large diameter water pipes. A pressure monitoring program, which was carried out as a part of this project, measured the pressures in two selected sections (section A and B) in the Hunter Water network. This data provides pressure variation in the several selected locations in the network. But this data cannot be used to obtain pressure distribution across the entire network. In order to obtain the pressure distribution across the entire water network pressure transient hydraulic modelling was carried out using the Surge 2000 (KYPIPE) computer program. Prior to performing pressure transient analysis, an Extended Period Simulation (EPS) was carried out to understand the behavior of two sections during steady state operation. Such models, once validated, can be used to obtain the pressures at the locations of previous failures to understand the possible causes of pipe failure.