WATER HAMMER

Introduction:
Majority of cases of engineering interest are of steady state in nature. However,
there are view cases of unsteady flow that are very important, there are two main
types of unsteady flow to be considered:
(i) The first is where the water level in a reservoir or pressure tank is steadily
rising or falling so that the rate of flow varies continuously, but where
change takes place slowly.
(ii) The second is where the velocity in a pipeline is changed rapidly by the
fast closing or opening of a valve.

Water hammer is the term used to express the resulting shock caused by the
sudden decrease in the motion (velocity) of a fluid.
Simply put if the velocity of a liquid in a pipeline is abruptly decreased by a valve
movement the phenomenon encountered is called WATER HAMMER.
 It is a very important problem in the case of hydroelectric plants where the
flow of water must be rapidly varied in proportion to the load changes on the
turbine.
 Water hammer occurs in liquid-flow pressure systems whenever a valve is
closed.
 Note: The terminology water hammer may be misleading since the
phenomenon can occur in any liquid.

In a pipeline the time of travel of the pressure wave up and back (round trip) is

given by:

 time of roundtrip in seconds

 L=Length of pipe in meter
 Celerity of pressure wave in (m/s)
FOR RIGID PIPES (Non-Elastic): The velocity of a pressure wave (sound wave)
is commonly referred to as ACOUSTIC VELOCITY.
  Note

 Volume modulus of the medium.

 For water a typical value of ,
 Thus the velocity of pressure wave in water is C=1440m/s.

ELASTIC PIPES: But for water in an elastic pipe this value is modified by the
stretching of the pipe walls. is replaced by K such that

 D= diameter of the pipe

 t=thickness of the pipe
 E=the modulus of elasticity of the pipe material.
The quantity E, i.e. the ratio of the unit stress to unit strain is the modulus
of elasticity of the material.
Therefore the velocity of a pressure wave in an elastic pipe is;

For normal pipe dimensions the velocity of a pressure wave in a water pipe
usually ranges between 600 and 1200m/s but it will always be less than
1440m/s.
 The increase in pressure caused by the sudden closure of a valve is
calculated by; Change in pressure = density x celerity x change in velocity

INSTANTANEOUS CLOSURE:

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In case of instantaneous and complete closure of a valve, the velocity is reduced
from V to zero, i.e. , then represents the increase in pressure due to
valve closure,
 The water hammer pressure
For Instantaneous Valve closure

RAPID CLOSURE: )

It is physically impossible for a valve to be closed instantaneously. Let us

consider a real case where the valve is closed in a finite time t c which is more

than zero but less than i.e. but

SLOW CLOSURE: )

Slow closure will be defined as one in which the time of valve movement is

greater than

Tests have shown that for slow valve closure, i.e. in a time greater than , the

excess pressure produced decreases uniformly from the value at valve to zero at
the intake. The water hammer pressure developed by gradual closure of a

valve when ) is given approximately by

where is the time of closure.

 A pipe can be protected from the effects of high water-hammer pressure

through the use of slow-closing valves, the use of automatic relief valves
which permit water to escape when the pressure exceeds a certain value,
or through application of surge chambers.

EXAMPLES

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 1. Compare the velocities of the pressure waves traveling along a
rigid pipe containing (a) Water at 16 o C (b) Glycerin at 20o C (c) Oil
of relative density 0.8. Use the values of bulk modulus for glycerin
and oil of 4.34x109 and 1.38x109 N/m2. If the liquids are flowing in a
0.3m pipe at 1.2m/s and the flow stopped suddenly, what increase
in pressure could be expected assuming the pipe to be rigid?

2. A 1.2m steel pipe 10mm thick carries water at 16 o C at a velocity of

1.8m/s. If the pipe line is 3km long and if the valve at the discharge
end is shut in 2.5seconds. What increase in stress in the pipe could
be expected? E for steel= 207x109 N/m2, Ev water at 16o C
=2.16x109 N/m2.

3. A valve is suddenly closed in a 75mm pipe carrying glycerin at 20 o

C. The increase in pressure is 7bar. What is the probable flow in
m3/s? Use

WATER HAMMER

EXAMPLES
1. Compare the velocities of the pressure waves traveling along a
rigid pipe containing (a) Water at 16 o C (b) Glycerin at 20o C (c) Oil
of relative density 0.8. Use the values of bulk modulus for glycerin
and oil of 4.34x109 and 1.38x109 N/m2. If the liquids are flowing in a
0.3m pipe at 1.2m/s and the flow stopped suddenly, what increase
in pressure could be expected assuming the pipe to be rigid?
SOLUTION

(a)

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(b)

Note that the rdn of glycerin =1.262 at 20 o C

(c)

(ii) If the liquids are flowing in a 0.3m pipe at 1.2m/s and the flow
stopped suddenly, what increase in pressure could be expected
assuming the pipe to be rigid?
(a)
(b)
(c)
2. A 1.2m steel pipe 10mm thick carries water at 16 o C at a velocity of
1.8m/s. If the pipe line is 3km long and if the valve at the discharge
end is shut in 2.5seconds. What increase in stress in the pipe could
be expected? E for steel= 207x109 N/m2, Ev water at 16o C
=2.16x109 N/m2.
SOLUTION

The valve was closed in 2.50 seconds

(Rapid closure or sudden closure)

From the hoop tension formula for thin-shelled cylinders

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 3. A valve is suddenly closed in a 75mm pipe carrying glycerin at 20 o
C. The increase in pressure is 7bar. What is the probable flow in
m3/s? Use
SOLUTION

DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS AND SIMILARITY

 Dimensional analysis plays an important role in the organization of
experimental work and the presentation of its results.
 The application of fluid mechanics in design relies on the use of empirical
results built up from an extensive body of experimental research.
 Together dimensional analysis, similarity and model testing technique
allow the design engineer to predict accurately and economically the
performance of the prototype system, e.g. an aircraft wing, ship, dam,
spillway, harbor construction.
 Dimensional Analysis: is a useful technique for the investigation of
problems in all braches of engineering and particularly in fluid mechanics.
 If it is possible to identify the factors involved in a physical situation,
dimensional analysis can usually establish the form of the relationship
between them.
 The technique does not appear to be as precise as the usual algebraic
analysis which seems to provide exact solutions but these are usually
obtained by making a series of simplifying assumptions which do not
always correspond with the real facts.

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  The qualitative solution obtained by dimensional analysis can usually be
converted into a quantitative result determining any unknown factors
experimentally.
 DIMENSIONS: Any physical situation whether it involves a single object or
a complete system can be described in terms of a number of
RECOGNISABLE properties which the object or system possesses.

EXAMPLE:
A moving object could be described in terms of its;
(i) Mass
(ii) Length
(iii) Area
(iv) Volume
(v) Velocity
(vi) Acceleration
 It’s Temperature or electrical properties, density, viscosity of the medium
through which it moves would also be of importance, since they would
affect its motion.
 These MEASURABLE properties used to describe PHYSICAL STATE of
the body or systems are known as its DIMENSIONS.
UNITS: To complete the description of the physical situation, it is also necessary
to know the MAGNITUDE of each dimension. Length=(meter).
 The distinction between units and dimensions is that dimensions are
properties that can be measured and units are standard elements in terms
of which these dimensions can be described quantitatively and assigned
numerical values.
DIMENSIONAL REASONING:
Analyzing any physical situation it is necessary to decide what factors are
involved;
 Then try to determine a quantitative relationship between them.

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  The factors involved can be assessed from OBSERVATION,
EXPERIMENT or INTUITION.
 1+3=4 numerically correct but in physical terms it may be untrue, for
example 1elephant + 3 aero planes =4 days is untrue.
 An equation describing a physical situation will only be true if all the terms
are of the same kind and have the same dimensions.
 Area = LxL=L2 area has the dimension of L 2 . The corresponding unit of
area will be the unit of length squared m2 in SI units.

In practice for any given system of units, the constant of proportionality is made
UNITY.
Force Mass x Acceleration
Force = Mass x Acceleration

SEE PAGE 669 DOUGLAS FOR DIMENSIONS OF QUANTITIES COMMONLY

OCCURING IN MECHANICS TABLE 24.1.

 The SI system is a rationalized system of metric units in which the units for
all physical quantities can be derived from SIX basic arbitrarily defined
units which are:
(i) Length meter
(ii) Mass kilogram

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 (iii) Time second
(iv) Electric current ampere
(v) Absolute temperature kelvin
(vi) Luminous Intensity candela
Details of the basic and derived SI units are given in Table 24.3 page 673
(Douglas)

SIMILITUDE AND DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

It is usually impossible to determine all the essential facts for a given fluid flow by
pure theory and hence dependence must often be placed upon experimental
investigation. The number of tests to be made can be greatly reduced by;
(i) Systematic program based on dimensional analysis
(ii) Application of the laws of similitude or similarity
The laws of similitude make it possible to determine the performance of the
prototype, which means the full-size device from tests made with model.
 Important hydraulic structures are now designed and built
only after extensive model studies have been made.
 Application of DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS and hydraulic
SIMILITUDE enable the engineer to organize and simplify the
experiments and to analyze the results.

HYDRAULIC MODELS
Hydraulic models in general may be either (i) TRUE MODELS (ii) DISTORTED
MODELS.
True models have all significant characteristics of the prototype reproduced to
scale i.e. (geometrically similar) and satisfy design restrictions (kinematic and
dynamic similitude)
I . GEOMETRIC SIMILARITY (SIMILITUTDE) The model and its prototype be
identical in shape but differ only in size. Geometric similitude exists between
model and prototype if the ratios of all corresponding dimensions in model and
prototype are equal.

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 ratio ,

 Note that scale ratio ,

 the reciprocal of this will be referred to as the model ratio or

model scale.
II. KINEMATIC SIMILARITY: Kinematic similarity implies geometric
similarity and in addition it implies that the ratio of the velocities at all
corresponding points in the flow is the same.

Velocity ratio and its value in terms of Lr will be determined by

dynamic considerations. T is dimensionally L/V .

The time scale is

Acceleration scale is

Discharge =

III DYNAMIC SIMILARITY: If two systems are dynamically similar,

corresponding FORCES must be in the same ratio in the two. Forces that
may act on a fluid element are:
(i) Gravity

(ii) Pressure

(iii) Viscosity

(iv) Elasticity
(v) Surface Tension

(vi) Inertia

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The conditions required for complete similitude are developed from Newton’s
second law of motion

REYNOLDS NUMBER
Considering the ratio of Inertia forces to viscous forces the parameter obtained is
called Reynolds Number Re or NR. The ratio of these two forces is:

or is a dimensionless number.

EXAMPLE
1. If the Reynolds number of a model and its prototype are the same find an
expression for Vr, Tr, and ar.
2. Let us consider the drag force FD exerted on a sphere as it moves through
a viscous liquid
The relationship of variables is our concern our approach is to satisfy
dimensional homogeneity, i.e. Dimensions on LHS=Dimensions on the RHS
TWO METHODS ARE AVAILABLE
Let us consider the drag force FD exerted on a sphere as it moves through a
viscous liquid
1. RAYLEIGH METHOD
2. BUCKINGHAM THEOREM

SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 2
(i) Visualize the physical problem
(ii) Consider what physical factors influence the drag force
(a) the size of the sphere
(b) the velocity of the sphere
(c) fluid properties , density and viscosity

RAYLEIGH METHOD
could be written as power equation

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 where C is a dimensionless constant. Using MLT system and
substituting the proper dimensions.

To satisfy dimensional homogeneity the exponents of each dimension must be

identical on both sides of the equation.
M:
L:
T:

We have 3 equations and 4 unknowns

Express three of the unknowns in terms of the fourth.
Solving for a, b, c, in terms of d

Grouping variables according to their exponents

The quantity

The power equation can be expressed as or

BUCKINHAM -THEOREM
This theorem states that if there are n dimensional variables I a dimensionally
homogeneous equation, described by m fundamental dimensions, they may be
grouped in n-m (n minus m) dimensionless groups.

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Buckingham referred to these dimensionless groups as terms. The advantage
of the theorem is that it tells one ahead of time how many dimensionless
groups are to be expected.

Arrange the five parameters into 2 dimensionless groups, taking , D and V as

the primary variables.
***It is generally advantageous to choose primary variables that relate to
Geometry, Kinematics and Mass.

Since the ’s (pi’s) are dimensionless they can be replaced with

Working with

Solving for a1, b1 and c1 in terms of d1

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Working in a similar fashion with

Take Note
(a) That dimensional analysis does not provide a complete solution to fluid
problems
(b) It provides a partial solution only
(c) That the success of dimensional analysis depends entirely on the ability of
the individual using it to define the parameters that are applicable.

EXAMPLES
1) The discharge through a horizontal capillary tube is thought to depend upon the
pressure per unit length, the diameter, and the viscosity. Find the form of the
equation.

Quantity Symbol Dimensions

Discharge Q L3T-1
Pressure drop/length ML-2T-2

Diameter D L
Viscosity ML-1T-1

The exponents of each dimension must be the same on both sides of the equation.

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Solve for x1, y1, and z1

Solving for Q

The dimensional analysis yields no information about the numerical value of the

dimensionless constant C, experiment (or analysis) shows that it is .

2) The losses per unit length of pipe in turbulent flow through a smooth

pipe depend upon velocity V, diameter D, gravity g, dynamic viscosity and

density . With dimensional analysis determine the general form of the
equation.

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