Visualization and Measurement of Pipe Flow with Leakage using PIV

Abstract

A particle image velocimetry (PIV) was applied to visualize and measure the water flow in a pipe downstream from a leakage point, where the leakage fairly affects the water flow regime. The flow with leak in a transparent acrylic pipe was simulated and examined with different discharge of pipe flow, constant leakage volume, and the characteristics of the flow downstream from the leakage point were evaluated. Consequently, it was revealed that vertical distribution of flow velocity leaned largely to the pipe wall side where the leakage existed just at a downstream side of the leakage point, while it approached largely to the original condition of no leakage at a point 1m downstream from the leakage point as the Reynolds number in the pipe was smaller, namely the ratio of leakage volume to discharge of pipe flow at an upstream side of the leakage point was larger.