Question
Have air test or water tests be selected to test leakage of constructed gravity pipelines?
Answer
For gravity pipes, air tests are carried out after completion of lying and jointing of pipes. These tests are behaviour to check water tightness of joints and to ensure pipelines are free from harm where leak might occur.
Air test has benefit that test itself is easy and faster to be accepted out. It does not need disposal of important quantities of water used in test that is a compulsory requirement for water test. Though, in case leakage survives in constructed segment of gravity pipelines, place of leakage be able to hardly be situated in air test. Furthermore, rate of water leakage cannot be determined from air tests. In adding, air test is gladly affected by atmospheric condition since air has a relatively high coefficient of thermal development. The analysis is as well inclined by moisture state of test pipelines since it affects passage of air through pipelines.