In-depth field instrumentation was undertaken on a section of a large diameter (660 mm) cast iron water pipe in Sydney, Australia to monitor the performance of a field pipeline under internal and external loads. This paper elaborates the instrumentation details and procedures adopted to capture various infield data to support the condition assessment of buried ageing pipelines under operational conditions including internal water pressure and external traffic loads. The adopted instrumentation realistically captured pipe strain, pipe joint displacement and rotation, soil pressure, temperature and moisture content. The results are discussed to evaluate the efficiency of the instrumentation for real-time monitoring which facilitates the understanding of the behaviour of a field pipeline. The pipe strains measured under various traffic conditions provide useful estimations for the evaluation of the condition of ageing pipelines. Fairly uniform strains were detected under internal water pressure loadings which showed a considerably larger impact on pipe performance than that due to other influential factors. The soil vertical and lateral pressures measured at various locations around the pipe revealed the relative magnitudes of ground stresses, facilitating new designs and the failure assessment of in-service buried pipelines. Soil moisture and temperature data showed variations directly related to atmospheric conditions. The robust field instrumentation adopted in this study is useful for the accurate monitoring of in-service pipes which may be highly vulnerable to catastrophic failure due to ageing-induced corrosion and severe operational loads.

在澳大利亚悉尼的一条大口径（660毫米）铸铁水管上进行了深入的现场检测，以监测现场管道在内部和外部负载下的性能。本文详细介绍了用于捕获各种现场数据的仪器详细信息和程序，以支持在包括内部水压和外部交通负荷在内的运行条件下对地下老化管道的状态评估。所采用的仪器可以真实地记录管道应变，管道接头的位移和旋转，土壤压力，温度和水分含量。讨论了结果，以评估用于实时监控的仪器的效率，这有助于了解现场管道的行为。在各种交通条件下测量的管道应变为评估老化的管道状况提供了有用的估计。在内部水压载荷下检测到相当均匀的应变，与其他影响因素相比，该应变对管道性能的影响要大得多。在管道周围各个位置测得的土壤垂直和侧向压力揭示了地应力的相对大小，从而有助于新设计和在役地下管道的破坏评估。土壤湿度和温度数据显示出与大气条件直接相关的变化。