Study on Duration of Hydrostatic Leak Test for Gas Pipeline

A mathematical model about the duration of hydrostatic leak test for gas pipeline is developed for the first time in the paper. The influences of temperature variation, elastic deformation of the pipe and a certain amount of residual air filled within the pipe are synthetically considered in the model. The results indicate that the duration is longer while the amount of the residual air in the pipe or the volume of pipe is lager under the same pressure dropping. The required duration is increasing with the pressure going up. At the same time, the temperature variation greatly influences the pressure dropping of the pipeline. The conclusions are helpful for determining the reasonable duration of hydrostatic leak test for gas pipeline. Furthermore, it can also provide some references for judging leak test result while hot water pressure testing in winter.