AWWA ACE63097

Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) water mains are designed to withstand cyclic highpressure surges; however, repeated spikes over a period of time can cause catastrophic failure ofthe pipeline as the integrity of the pipe is gradually degraded. This was the case for a surfacewater refill line in the City of Houston's water system. On June 8, 2004, the 42-inch prestressedconcrete cylinder pipe supplying potable surface water to one of the City's Water Pump Stationsfailed and flooded several residential properties. After failure of the water line, the City enlistedtwo area consulting firms to further investigate the cause of the failure, review operationalprocedures, and simulate in a computer model the conditions that led to the failure. In a proactivestep, the City of Houston also called for the consultants to assess the potential for damageto the refill lines servicing two other water pump stations with similar operational procedures,and recommend preventative measures against future water refill line failures. Combiningefforts, the consulting team utilized two transient analysis software packages to developrepresentative models of the three water systems. The comparative transient analyses performedon the failed system confirmed the peak pressures that occurred at the failure site and theprocedural changes required to mitigate possible failures in the future. Includes 3 references, table, figures.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Published:

06/01/2006

Number of Pages:

10

File Size:

1 file , 1.8 MB