An analysis of pipe breakage in urban water distribution networks

Abstract

The rates of pipe breakage with increasing pipe diameter and times are investigated. Failure rates for cast-iron pipe are found to decrease with increasing diameter. Changes in pipe failure rates for the various modes of failures are examined in detail. Asbestos-cement and cast-iron pipe overall failure rates are found to increase with time, but for different reasons. Analysis of the modes of failure shows that joint failure is predominant for cast-iron pipe systems with bolted and universal joints whereas the predominant mode of failure for asbestos-cement pipe systems is circumferential cracking. Key words: asbestos cement, cast iron, cracking, diameter, failure rate, joint, regression analysis.