Abstract
The ability of a municipal pressure pipeline to prevent leakage at joints is an indicator of the efficiency of that piping system. Cement-based and metallic pipe materials used in pressurized municipal water distribution and transmission systems include high head concrete pressure pipe (CCP), gasket-sealed-joint and welded-joint welded steel pipe (WSP), and ductile iron pipe (DIP). For these materials, hydrostatic pressure testing is typically performed twice, once at the pipe manufacturing plant to confirm structural integrity and proper manufacture, and again after the pipeline has been installed and backfilled to confirm that the pipe, joints, and thrust restraint systems have been properly constructed. For field hydrostatic leakage testing, most pipe materials have an associated “allowable makeup water” or “allowable leakage” to accommodate the unique characteristics of the material as well as other irregularities during testing such as air in the line, temperature variations, and even instrument inaccuracies. Test methods and formulas for calculating makeup water usually vary based on the pipe material-specific standards. The wide discrepancies that exist for makeup water between different pipe materials do not place them on a level playing field for a given application. This paper is a review of both in-plant and in-field hydrostatic pressure testing and the topic of makeup water as outlined in AWWA and ASTM standards for the above-named pipe materials. Quality control and qualification tests for joints of each pipe material standard are also reviewed. Recommendations are made for consideration by the Specification Engineering community for future revisions of standards pertaining to the field testing of pipelines.
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Published on 01/01/2010
Volume 2010, 2010
DOI: 10.1061/41138(386)18
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA license
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