Motivation for the project

There is approximately 8,300 km of potable and salt water pipes in Hong Kong (HK). Some water pipes are approaching the end of their service life and over 30 years old with high cost of maintenance. In 2019, the number of pipe bursts/leaks in Hong Kong was 7,113 with a rate of 0.857 breaks/km/year and a leakage rate of about 15%. These statistics show marked improvement in the condition of Hong Kong Water Distribution Network (HKWDN) compared with 20 years ago.

The proposed research will contribute to a better understanding of causes of failure and pipe performance analysis and a key improvement to the HKWDN. As a result, HKWDN could be efficiently preserved and cost-effectively maintained. The key users of the proposed research will be WSD, municipal workforces, academics, contractors, and other interested stakeholders. The proposed research has the potential to advance current municipal practices, accelerate the decision-making process, increase the safety and functionality of water pipes, reduce water loss, and mitigate the risk of a catastrophic pipe failure. 

Objectives

1. Identify and study the failure causes, based on HKWDN environment and literature, and collect data pertained to these identified causes
2. Design innovative deterioration models for water pipes
3. Study samples from failed water pipes and surrounding soil/environment to perform the following analyses:
a. Visual examination
b. Corrosion study
c. Metallography study and material properties characterization
d. Mechanical and structural testing 
e. Chemical and soil testing
4. Analyze the causes of failure and recommend solutions, strategies, polices, and regulations

Gallery

Pipe burst

Corroding pipe

External corrosion

Internal corrosion