Analytical and experimental investigation of chlorine decay in water supply systems under unsteady hydraulic conditions

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the dynamic hydraulic conditions on the kinetics of chlorine decay in water supply systems. A simulation framework has been developed for the scale-adaptive hydraulic and chlorine decay modelling under steady- and unsteady-state flows. An unsteady decay coefficient is defined which depends upon the absolute value of shear stress and the rate of change of shear stress for quasi-unsteady and unsteady-state flows. By coupling novel instrumentation technologies for continuous hydraulic monitoring and water quality sensors for in-pipe water quality sensing a pioneering experimental and analytical investigation was carried out in a water transmission main. The results were used to model monochloramine decay and these demonstrate that the dynamic hydraulic conditions have a significant impact on water quality deterioration. The spatial and temporal resolution of experimental data provides new insights for the near real-time modelling and management of water quality as well as highlighting the uncertainty and challenges of accurately modelling the loss of disinfectant in water supply networks.