Pressurised pipe systems transport fluids daily over long distances and sediment deposits are responsible for narrowing the cross-sectional area of the pipe. This reduces the carrying capacity in gravity pipes and increases the energy consumption in rising mains. As partial blockages do not give rise to any external evidence, they are considered the most insidious fault occurring in pipe systems. Thus, the refinement of reliable techniques for detecting partial blockages at an early stage is of great interest to water utilities. This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based analysis of the steady-state flow through a sharp-edged orifice which corresponds to the most straightforward partial blockage feature in a pipe. The main motivation is the fact that the interaction between pressure waves and a partial blockage – on which Transient Test-Based Techniques for fault detection are based – is strongly influenced by the pre-transient conditions at the partial blockage. The refined CFD model has been validated by considering experimental data selected from the literature. The comparison of obtained results demonstrates good performance of the numerical model. This authorised exploring in detail the features of the flow through the orifice as a necessary premise to its use within the successive transient analysis.

加压管道系统每天长距离输送流体，沉积物沉积物导致管道横截面积变窄。这降低了重力管道的承载能力并增加了上升总管的能耗。由于部分堵塞不会引起任何外部证据，它们被认为是管道系统中发生的最隐蔽的故障。因此，改进用于早期检测局部堵塞的可靠技术对供水公司非常感兴趣。本文提出了一种基于计算流体动力学 (CFD) 的稳态流动分析，该分析对应于管道中最直接的部分堵塞特征。主要动机是压力波和部分堵塞之间的相互作用——故障检测的基于瞬态测试的技术所基于的——受到部分堵塞的前瞬态条件的强烈影响。通过考虑从文献中选择的实验数据，已经验证了改进的 CFD 模型。所得结果的比较表明该数值模型具有良好的性能。这授权详细探索通过孔口的流动特征，作为其在连续瞬态分析中使用的必要前提。所得结果的比较表明该数值模型具有良好的性能。这授权详细探索通过孔口的流动特征，作为其在连续瞬态分析中使用的必要前提。所得结果的比较表明该数值模型具有良好的性能。这授权详细探索通过孔口的流动特征，作为其在连续瞬态分析中使用的必要前提。