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Pipe rupture
Over the last 10 years Norway have seen
a boom in building of small hydropower
plants (< 10 MW). Many of these projects
use buried pipes to transport the water
from inlet to plant. In 2012, around 40
pipe trenches were put into operation. 4 of
these (10 %!) experienced several problems
with pipe rupture. The safety factor on
these pipe trenches is supposed to be 1.5.
The thesis will focus on why these pipes
fail, and try to give some recommendations
on how installation can be improved to
reduce risk of pipe rupture.
Master Thesis
Department of Hydraulic and
Environmental Engineering
Pipe Rupture in Small
Hydropower Projects
By Tor Oxhovd Svalesen
Supervisor: Leif Lia