InfoWater Pro can explicitly model water main breaks (and large leaks). This helps you develop effective leakage reduction and control and demand and maintenance management strategies to maximize the quantity of revenue-producing water, ensure hydraulic and water integrity, improve the quality of service, and conserve this precious resource. Breaks can be specified for any pipe in the network along with their location, size, and time of occurrence. Small breaks (large leaks) can also be automatically distributed at the two end nodes of a pipe. InfoWater Pro will then compute and report the total water volume lost to breaks for any user-specified period. It will also report their impact on the hydraulic (e.g., flows, pressures, velocities, and fire-fighting capacity) and water quality (e.g., chlorine concentrations) integrity of the water distribution system.
Modeling Pipe Rupture
A pipe rupture means a complete break of the pipe. To model smaller breaks (large leaks), see the following section “Modeling Pipe Leak”in this help file. To model a pipe rupture, go to Run Manager and select the Break tab.
Target Pipe
When entered, InfoWater Pro will carry out the simulation with the selected pipe being ruptured.
Pipe Rupture Time
When checked, InfoWater Pro will carry out the analysis with the initial pipe status unchanged and will subsequently rupture the pipe at the rupture time specified by clicking the
Select Time button
. If the Pipe Rupture Time is not specified, InfoWater Pro will assume the pipe rupture occurs at time zero.
Pipe Rupture Location
When checked, InfoWater Pro will insert the rupture at the specified distance from the upstream node. If the distance entered is greater than the length of the pipe, then InfoWater Pro will consider the rupture at the downstream node. If the distance is not specified, then InfoWater Pro will assume the rupture is in the middle of the pipe.
Modeling Pipe Leak
Use this option to model small breaks (large leaks); not a complete pipe rupture. You must uncheck the
Pipe Rupture box
.
Target Pipe
When entered, InfoWater Pro will carry out the simulation with the break in the selected pipe.
Pipe Break Location
When checked, InfoWater Pro will insert the break at the specified distance from the upstream node. The break is modeled as an emitter at that location (with appropriate boundary conditions and coefficient derived from a circular orifice analogy).
If the distance entered is greater than the length of the pipe, then InfoWater Pro will place the break at the downstream node; however, if the downstream node is a tank/reservoir, pump or valve, then InfoWater Pro will automatically assign the emitter in the middle of the pipe.
If the location of the break is not specified, then InfoWater Pro will automatically distribute the break at the two end nodes of the pipe (Note: If one end one is a valve, pump, or tank/reservoir, then InfoWater Pro will assume the break occurs at the other end node; or if both end nodes are valves, tanks/reservoirs, or pumps or any of their combination, then InfoWater Pro will automatically place the break in the middle of the pipe).
Break Size
Enter the size (diameter) of the break. If the size of the break specified is greater than or equal to the pipe diameter, InfoWater Pro will assume a complete pipe break (rupture).
Modeling Outputs
Once the pipe break/leak modeling parameters are set up, click
Run 
in the
Run Manager dialog box. After a successful simulation is completed, go to
Report Manager 
and click
New 
. The
Output Report/Graph dialog box will appear as shown below. Select
Active Break from the
Output Report/Graph dialog box and choose the
Break Graph.
The pipe break/leak analysis output graph will be displayed as shown below:
The pipe break output graph can also be displayed directly from the Model Explorer by clicking on the graph icon
.