Laboratory experiments on the water meters performarce under intermittent and continuous water supply

Laboratory experiments on the water meters performarce under intermittent and continuous water supply | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Laboratory experiments on the water meters performarce under intermittent and continuous water supply Fabrizio Traina, Federica Bruno, Costantino Giaconia, Enrico Napoli, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8671402/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate water measurement is essential for the effective management of urban water distribution networks, particularly in systems characterized by intermittent supply. This study investigates the performance of volumetric water meters under both steady and transient flow conditions, with specific attention to pipeline refilling phases and the presence of air within the pipes. Experimental tests were conducted on a full-scale laboratory network, built at the Environmental Hydraulic Laboratory of the University of Enna (Italy). Flow rate, pressure and water volumes through the water meters were measured with high precision, using an innovative ad hoc measurement system, based on a wireless data transmission between the sensors and the acquisition system, representing a scalable and cost-effective solution. Furthermore, the water volume was estimated using the water weight and density. Single-jet and multi-jet meters were investigated. The results show for both meters, good accuracy, under steady-state flow conditions; however, significant measurement errors arise during transient events, with huge overestimation of the water volume flowing through the meters. The experimental campaign demonstrated how apparent losses are deeply affected by the management of the network, with errors ±100% in function of the specific operating conditions. In intermittent water supply, in fact, the water volume is clearly overestimated, whereas in continuous supply systems it can be deeply underestimated. These findings highlight the importance of testing water meters and monitoring devices under more realistic operational scenarios to ensure reliable billing, accurate water loss assessment, and improved overall water network management. Water meters Intermittent water supply Transient flow Apparent losses Urban water distribution networks Measurement accuracy Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 11 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8671402","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":592826246,"identity":"99e10c1f-2b02-423c-829b-d559c28e4943","order_by":0,"name":"Fabrizio Traina","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universita Kore di Enna: Universita degli Studi di Enna 'Kore'","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fabrizio","middleName":"","lastName":"Traina","suffix":""},{"id":592826247,"identity":"4fa5aaed-bfdd-4be7-9b38-724c06cc9977","order_by":1,"name":"Federica 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