Test equipmentDecompression wave speed and crack velocity measurements during S4 test in water pressurized plastic pipes: Part 1. Experimental methods

In a Small Scale Steady State (S4) test apparatus of ISO 13477, instrumentations were designed and successfully adapted to determine decompression wave speed and crack velocity during rapid crack propagation event in water-filled plastic pipes. The basic design for decompression wave speed measurement involved the use of high-frequency dynamic pressure transmitters, located external to the water-filled pipe and connected to pressure measurement positions inside the pipe, by means of stainless steel tubes. For the crack velocity measurements, timing wire system with the required circuitry capable of giving the precise temporal indication of the propagating crack was designed and employed. In this paper, detailed design of instrumentations adapted to the S4 test apparatus and the assessment techniques used to obtain decompression wave speed and crack velocity are described. It was also demonstrated that the methods developed were viable for these measurements which are known to affect the rapid crack propagation behavior in water-filled plastic pipes.