A new approach for evaluating water hammer including the initial state of pressurization of the installation and fluid

• Main Author: G. Kaless
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universitat Politecnica de Valencia 2016-04-01
• Series: Ingeniería del Agua
• Subjects: Golpe de ariete; escurrimientos a presión; régimen transitorio; condiciones iniciales
• Online Access: http://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/IA/article/view/3692

The water hammer phenomenon is well known since the 19th century, while its mathematical formulation, by means of differential equations, is due to works of researchers such us Allievi (1903) and others from the beginning of the 20th century. The equations found in the technical publications produce a strange water hammer when the initial condition is defined assuming an incompressible fluid and a rigid pipe. The correct solution requires solving the water hammer equations for the initial state. When the finite difference method is applied, the initial state is solved by means of a set of non-linear equations. A novel approach is proposed including the initial state of pressurization into the governing equations and hence simplifying the calculus of the initial conditions. Furthermore, a critical reading of the deduction of the equations is done pointing out conceptual inconsistencies and proposing corrections.