Experimental Study of External Pipe Wall Erosion due to Water Pipe Leakage

Burst pipes can cause severe pressure drops and water pollution in water distribution networks. Small leaks can develop into pipe bursts over time due to interactions between pipes, water, and soil. This paper presents preliminary experimental results on the erosion of the outer wall of a pipe by solid particles when a leak occurs in a pressurized pipe and causes soil fluidization. A series of experiments were carried out with 50-mm-diameter and 3-mm-wall-thickness polyethylene (PE) pipes with various leak holes buried in silica sand bedding. The experiments investigated the effects of the leak size, shape, and direction on the erosion process. The findings indicated that the size of the leaks had the greatest impact on erosion rate, and erosion rate was nearly completely unaffected by the geometry of the leak hole or leak orientation.