Formula for selecting optimal location of air vessel in long-distance pumping systems

Abstract

In this study, the location of air vessels in long-distance water supply systems was investigated. The relation between location and pressure amplitude of the air vessel was established, and a new formula for air vessel location—that is, a middle-reach location—was presented and verified using a numerical simulation based on a practical project. Moreover, the water hammer protection performance of air vessels in normal and middle-reach locations was compared. The results showed that the location formula agrees well with the numerical results: The middle-reach location effectively reduced the total air vessel volume under the same protection requirements, and the maximum gas pressure was much lower. Furthermore, based on a fixed air vessel volume, the middle-reach location exhibited better protection performance compared to the normal location.