Zebra mussel is a critical invasive species of water storage and conveyance systems, attaching to many types of surfaces. In pipeline networks, chemical treatments remove mussels but shortly afterwards shells freely flow in water. The movement of zebra mussel shells in pressurized pipelines poses significant operational challenges in water distribution systems: reduced water delivery and filter clogging. This study aims to experimentally explore the longitudinal velocity of shell movement under varying flow conditions. A transparent pipe was connected to a hydrant in a pressurized network, facilitating visual and acoustic monitoring of water and shell flow. Shell dynamics were registered using two complementary methods: (1) video recordings analysed through image processing techniques and (2) acoustic signals captured by microphones located along the pipeline, processed to characterize shell movement. Dispersion was estimated by fitting an advection–dispersion equation to the video-derived shell density.
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