Understanding the range of influence of moderate-sized and short- duration transients in water distribution systems

While extreme pressure transients are widely understood, moderate and frequent transients are not frequently studied. This paper reports on field results from the Central Business District (CBD) of Adelaide, South Australia, which show that moderate transients are caused by regular and semiregular events. The results are analysed to assess the range of influence (and impact) of these events and are also compared to the results from transient hydraulic models. The use of the model predictions, with relative adjustment for measured damping, can be used to estimate the number of events that could be detected based on the number of time-synchronised high frequency loggers and their location.