Transient Response of a Branch in a Transmission Main

In the last decades, transient test-based techniques have been proposed and applied for fault detection in transmission mains. Pressure waves are injected in pipes for locating and sizing these faults.

Usually, the transmission main configuration is simple, with a single pipe that connects two reservoirs or a well field to a reservoir. However, there is also the possibility that the system is more complex with some branches that could be closed or connect the main pipe directly to the users.

This paper studies the effect of the complexity of the system in the simulation of the unsteady flow phenomenon. A series of tests have been carried out at the Water Engineering Laboratory of the University of Perugia (Italy): the effect of a branch of different characteristics on the transient response of the system has been analysed, and compared with the case of a single pipe system.

This paper allows a deeper understanding on how a system can be skeletonized in the unsteady flow simulation model.