Three-dimensional modelling of water flow due to leakage from pressurized buried pipe

Hong Zhu, Limin Zhang, Chen Chen and Kit Chan

Abstract

A three-dimensional model is constructed to simulate water infiltration in an unsaturated slope from a leaking pipe. Adaptive mesh refinement and time stepping are used, assisted by an automatic procedure for progressive steepening of the hydraulic property function for better convergence. The model is justified by comparing the simulated results with experimental data. Steady-state flow is investigated considering various pipe water pressures, locations and sizes of the opening, and soil layering. The opening size significantly affects the soaked zone around the pipe. Preferential flow dominates along the pipe longitudinal direction in the presence of a loose backfill around the pipe.

Key Words

seepage; buried pipes; water infiltration; unsaturated soil; preferential flow; centrifuge test

Address

Hong Zhu, Limin Zhang and Kit Chan:Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Chen Chen: 1.) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong 2.) State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China 3.) College of Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Engineering, Sichuan University, China

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