Influence of cavitation phenomenon on the hydraulic behavior of leaks in water distribution systems

This paper examines the hydraulic behavior of leakage from water distribution systems under condition of cavitation. For this purpose, an experimental model featuring small (i.e., a fraction of a millimeter) orifice openings was designed and built to simulate idealized cracks in defective pipes. During the tests, water was allowed to flow through the cracks at controlled pressures during observation of hydraulic behavior. The study showed that the cavitation phenomenon can develop in leaking orifices and that it drastically affects the pressure–flow rate relationship. The results also showed that cavitation inception is dependent on the size of the leak opening and the rate of flow but remains independent of the pressure head. The coefficient of discharge in cavitating flow conditions is influenced by the cavitation number rather than the Reynolds number. A model was used to determine the coefficient of discharge (C_d) for cavitating orifice flow, after which the calculated results were compared with those measured experimentally. Accordingly, care should be taken using the orifice flow equation to model leakage from water distribution systems.