Condensate induced water hammering

18.05.2022
 Is water hammer normal ?
• At no time water hammer in
any system a NORMAL or
ACCEPATANCE occurrence
• Water hammer is a sign of
poor system
• Design
• Construction
• Control
• Operation
• Maintenance
• Extended life of High pressure
steam system is possible.
 Where Can we find water hammer
• Any fluid system
• Most pronounced in multi phase fluid system
• Most severe on startup and shutdown
• Results of water hammer
• Rupture of pipes.
• Broken pipe support.
• Heat exchanger Tube and Header failure.
• Destroys Valves and Traps, Instrumentation.
 Is water Hammer Normal

• Water Hammer has 4 main Causes

HYDRAULIC SHOCKS
THERMAL Shock
Flow shock
Differential shock

Not all Water hammer is audible

 Can still Damage equipment.
 1. Hydraulic shocks

• Rapid Closing of a valve

• Sudden stop
• Undersize pipes= Higher velocity
• Force @ Change of Momentum
• Shock ( pressure ) wave will reflect back and forth.

• Hydraulic shock, a small percentage of water hammer, not too

significant, will be hydraulic shock. Like condensate pumps on, off, or
condensates or liquid valves turned on too fast. Very, very small
percentage.
 Is water Hammer Normal

• The major source of water hammer is thermal shock, steam collapses,

water is accelerated into the resulting vacuum from all directions with
great speed.
• In a bi-phase condensate system, steam bubbles may be introduced
below the level of condensate in the condensate line, or a tank, or
condensate tank. An example would be what’s showing here on the
right-hand side.
WATER HAMMER AND OTHER HYDRAULIC PHENOMENA
 Is water Hammer Normal
Steam flow water hammer
This dramatic event can occur if condensate accumulates in low sections of steam piping. As steam flows over the liquid, it
creates ripples, and if the level of condensate is high enough, the ripples may fill the entire pipe cross section (Figure 1). Under
pressure, and with nowhere else to go, the ripples are transformed into a mass of water that the steam picks up and shoots
down the pipe at up to hundreds of feet per second. The slug continues downstream until it hits an obstruction or restriction
such as a valve, elbow, or orifice.

1. Forming a water hammer. If steam creates ripples on the surface of water in a pipe and the water level is high enough for
the ripples to fill the pipe, the ripples can be transformed into a slug of water that the steam carries downstream at up to 136
mph. Source: Jonas Inc.
 water hammer
Hydraulic and thermo-hydraulic shock events and where they occur. 
 Condensation-induced water hammer

• Condensation-induced water hammer is an even more dramatic event. It may be caused either by steam entering a piping system that contains water (cooled
condensate) or by the injection of water into a piping system containing steam.
• Figure 2 depicts the four-step sequence that causes condensation-induced water hammer. As condensing steam loses its heat to the pipe wall and cooler
condensate (a), it changes phase from a vapor to a liquid. Working together, the condensation and flow of steam produce waves that build until they fill the pipe
cross section, trapping steam between their peaks. The trapped steam then condenses rapidly (b). Because the resulting liquid occupies up to 1,000 times less
space than it did as steam, the pressure in the void falls to a much lower level than that of the steam surrounding it. The void then collapses as the water, under
steam pressure, rushes in (c). The collision of the water and condensate produces a local, pressurized pulse of water that rebounds down the pipe (d).
 four-step sequence that causes condensation-induced water hammer

• Four-step program. The four-step sequence that causes condensation-induced water hammer.  

• The maximum force at which this pulse hits any downstream piping component can be calculated as the
product of three terms: the water’s density, the velocity of the pulse, and the speed of sound in water.
• The maximum impact force (pressure) is about 20 times greater than the maximum force of steam flow
water hammer and well above the rupture pressure of any piping component.
• Normally, the shock waves generated by a condensation-induced water hammer event do not cause
catastrophic failure. Either the pressure in the condensate system is low, there’s not enough subcooling
of the condensate, the steam voids are small, or sloping pipes prevent steam from becoming trapped.
• Catastrophes typically are caused by the mechanical failure of a piping system component, the pluggage
of a trap by scale, or operator error.
• The severity of a condensation-induced water hammer event is a function of steam pressure, the
amount of condensate subcooling, the amount of noncondensable matter remaining in the void, and
the size of the void.
 four-step sequence that causes condensation-induced water hammer

• Deaerators and pressurized hot water vessels are a special case. In

deaerators, the water and saturated steam are in equilibrium. Any
rapid change in pressure or temperature can lead to rapid flash
condensation or evaporation. Deaerators have imploded due to the
vacuum generated by sudden steam condensation.
 Water-flow water hammer

• Water-flow water hammer

• Water hammer also is possible in any water system, such as domestic
and institutional plumbing. The familiar bangs it produces are caused
by a mechanism similar to that in steam flow water hammer: a
sudden decrease or stop of flow velocity.
 Water induction

• Water induction
• When a slug, or even a small stream, of water enters a steam turbine, it is referred to as
water induction. Typical locations include the blade rows downstream of extraction
lines and the first stages of the high-, intermediate-, and low-pressure turbines.
• Potential sources of the water include main and reheat steam piping, steam turbine
extraction lines, gland seals, and turbine drains. Any water that is allowed to
accumulate in the extraction steam and drain lines can get re-entrained in flowing
steam. Water induction can also occur in interconnected steam piping systems. Usually,
the phenomenon occurs during transient operation (start-ups, shutdowns, unit trips,
and cycling); the results can be considerable and costly damage plus significant
downtime. Most water induction events can be prevented by proper design and proper
O&M practices.
 
 OTHER HYDRAULIC FAILURE MODES

• OTHER HYDRAULIC FAILURE MODES

• The five phenomena discussed above do not constitute a comprehensive list of water hammer causes and
effects. Other flow phenomena that can lead to equipment damage include:
• Shock waves generated by transonic flow, which can occur in valves and orifices whose pressure drop is
above the critical pressure ratio (~2:1 for steam). These shock waves produce noise and induce vibration in
pipes and valves, both of which can cause fatigue of steam turbine components.
• Condensation. The interaction of shock waves and condensation also can lead to fatigue by generating fairly
frequent changes in pressure.
• Vortex shedding occurs in steam and water flows around obstacles such as heat exchanger tubes. The vortex
periodically separates, typically at frequencies of hundreds of thousands of hertz. When the vortex shedding
frequency is close to the natural vibration frequency of the obstacle, high-cycle fatigue may result.
• Cavitation refers to the formation of steam or air bubbles in liquid flow and the subsequent collapse of the
bubbles on surfaces in the flow. It occurs when the pressure of water or other liquids falls below the
saturation pressure. Cavitation is most likely in nozzle flows and in vortices where the static pressure is
reduced by the dynamic pressure of locally high flow velocity.
 Be safe, not sorry

• Be safe, not sorry

• Equipment damage and operator safety are put at risk by water
hammer in any of its various forms. Although catastrophic damage may
be a rarity (or perhaps just not yet visible), the risks involved are
considerable. Following are four case histories that should convince you
of that.

• Activation of a heating steam line. When an operator activated a long,

8-inch heating steam line from a boiler house to a tank farm by opening
a gate valve, a slug of water nowhere near the valve accelerated to the
velocity of steam and broke off all of the bolts in the flange connection
between the valve and the piping (Figure ). The operator was killed.
• Valve failure fatality:These broken and stripped valve flange bolts were
the result of a water hammer event that cost the life of an operator. He
had tried to "crack open" an 8-inch valve to admit steam to a cold pipe
without first draining the condensate within.

•
 Be safe, not sorry

• Newly built steam line. Condensation-induced water hammer occurred as workers attempted to drain
condensate from a pressurized steam line as part of a procedure to put it into service. Two of the
workers died and another two were injured. A post-mortem investigation blamed inadequate training,
a poor procedure, and an improperly sized steam trap for the catastrophe. Had the workers drained
the condensate from the line before admitting the pressurized steam, the event never would have
happened.
• Expansion joint failure. After a 185-psi steam system had been off-line for about eight hours, workers
were asked to return it to service. But they failed to remove the condensate that had accumulated in
the line before opening a 20-inch valve. The resulting water hammer event was severe enough to kill
two of the workers and cause an explosion that ruptured an expansion joint, killing a pedestrian.
• Deaerator storage tank head separation. Water piston was suspected of playing a role in the
catastrophic failure of a circumferential weld at the head-to-shell joint of a deaerator water storage
vessel at a pulp and paper plant. One head of the vessel (which was 12 inches across and 45 feet long)
was blown off, and the remains of the vessel itself were found lodged in the side of a water tank a
significant distance away. Three people working in the area at the time were killed.
 Water piston

• Water piston
• This is the common term for the unstable wave on a
water surface (the formal name for it is Kelvin-
Helmholtz instability) that can form in partially filled
horizontal vessels such as in deaerator storage
tanks.
• Figure 3 illustrates the complete five-step sequence
of events that create a water piston.
• Briefly, the flow of water into a vessel can cause
standing waves to form and fill its cross section,
creating a piston effect.
• When there is a pressure differential across the
vessel, the piston is propelled toward its end.
• When water piston occurs repeatedly, stresses can
rise and fall and lead to corrosion fatigue of welds.
• The conditions for water piston can be predicted
from the vessel’s design and operating data.
 Water Hammer _Water Piston
• Water piston. A series of level oscillations occur at quasi-steady state until they form a water piston. The
piston can repeatedly bounce between the ends of the vessel.  
• Most often, water piston-induced cracks in deaerators occur in either the heat-affected zones of its storage
tank or in tank welds.
• The cracks are usually perpendicular to the welds, but parallel cracks, especially at the toe, also are common.
In many vessels, the most serious cracking has been found to be parallel to the head-to-shell circumferential
weld. Deaerators have failed catastrophically, with fatal consequences, due to weld cracking caused by water
piston.
• A survey of deaerators examined by wet fluorescent magnetic particle inspection (Table) indicates that the
presence of water hammer (or water piston) is a likely cause of deaerator cracking. Table . Deaerator
cracking. There is a correlation between water hammer and deaerator cracking.
 1.1Preventing water hammer and hydraulics shocks

1. A properly designed, operated, and maintained steam system should never, or rarely, suffer a water hammer event or hydraulic shock.
Following are some steps that designers and O&M personnel can take to achieve that goal:
2. Pitch steam pipes away from the boiler toward a drip trap station.
3. Install a drip trap before each steam regulator valve to prevent condensate from accumulating behind the valve while it is closed.
4. Install drip trap stations ahead of any risers, at the end of the steam main, and at every 500 feet along the steam piping.
5. Inspect traps often and replace any found to be defective.
6. Repair damaged pipe insulation and replace any that has been removed.
7. Repair any sagging pipes or install steam traps at the low point.
8. Do not allow steam into any line filled with subcooled condensate or into any cold steam line suspected of containing condensate.
9. Do not "crack open" valves to avoid water hammer. Condensation-induced water hammer can occur at very low condensate flow rates.
10. If steam and condensate are in contact, stop the flow of steam before draining the condensate.
11. Wherever possible, use mechanical extensions or reach rods to operate manual valves.
12. Test deaerators during steam system commissioning and optimize their operation to follow load, temperature, and rate of pressure
change with load.

https://www.powermag.com/water-hammer-and-other-hydraulic-phenomena/
CRH line at 15 meter outside NE room. The NE room wall got damage
due to the impact.
Hanger support at 17 meter APRDS floor
twisted
Hanger support at 21 meter Firing floor (near feed control station) got
twisted
 water hammer

MAN
MACHINE
Inadequate Maintenance
Lack of awareness Unequal focus on all parameter

Low alertness to deviation in Passing of

parameter Spray valve valve

Absence of ATM Drain

Inadequate Design
Non Adherence of Check List. Impaired Auto operation of drain valve

Inadequate maintenance practise

Ignorance Condensate induced
water hammer
lack of resource and planning
Absence of Process Audit

FAULTY LEVEL SENSOR OF CRH POT DRAIN

Improper Maintenance
Schedule.
lack of awareness Poor Quality

Maintenance inadequacy to address valve FAULTY LIMIT SWITCH OF MOTORIZED DRAIN

passing VALVE

Non availability of portable

measuring instrument Poor Quality
METHOD MATERIAL
 Water hammer
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