Water Hammer Control Analysis of an Intelligent Surge Tank with Spring Self-Adaptive Auxiliary Control System

Boran Zhang,Jijian Lian,Wuyi Wan,Xiaoyi Chen

doi:10.3390/en12132527

Boran Zhang, Jijian Lian + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en12132527

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Abstract

The water hammer can cause great risks in water supply pipe systems. A surge tank is a kind of general water hammer control device. In order to improve the behavior of the surge tank, a self-adaptive auxiliary control (SAC) system was proposed in this paper. The system can optimize the response of the surge tank according to the transient pressure. The numerical model and the matched boundary conditions were established to simulate the improved surge tank and optimize the SAC system. Then, various transient responses were simulated by the proposed model with different parameters set. The proposed system is validated by comparing the water hammer process in a river-pipe-valve (RLV) system with and without SAC. The results show that the SAC can greatly improve the water hammer control of the pipeline and the water level oscillation of the surge tank. With the SAC system, the required vertical size of the surge tank can be significantly reduced with the desired water hammer control function.

Highlights

In pressured piping systems, the water hammer is an undesired hydraulic phenomenon with a rapid change in flow velocity and pressure [1]
The results show that the optimized self-adaptive auxiliary control (SAC) can greatly reduce the amplitude and the height of water mass oscillation in the surge tank, as well as the extreme transient pressure and the duration of large amplitude oscillation in the pipeline
68.83 m with a Figure regular surge tank, while the maximal pressure reduced to 68.83 m with a SAC surge tank

Summary

Introduction

The water hammer is an undesired hydraulic phenomenon with a rapid change in flow velocity and pressure [1]. It usually occurs with a valve shutdown and opening, a pump accident and start-up, or even a sudden depressurization of a pipeline system. Water hammers can cause severe pressure and flow oscillations, along with cavitation, noise, and other hazards. The instantaneous positive and negative pressure generated by the water hammer is much greater than the normal operating pressure of the pipeline. The pressure and flow oscillations can make the pump and water turbine unit out of control

Results

Discussion

Conclusion