Intergraph®

Waterhammer Evaluation Using

CAESAR II® & AFT-Impulse™

Jim Wilcox, P.Eng.

CodeCAD Inc.,
Calgary, Canada
What is Waterhammer?
 Sometimes called Hydraulic Transients
 A transient phenomenon that occurs in a piping system when
some event causes a departure from steady state
o A similar phenomenon happens in vapor lines
o Usually the lower density means it is of lesser importance
 The process the piping system experiences as it adjusts to the
new conditions
 A single or series of coupled pressure/velocity waves that
travel at close to the speed of sound through the piping
system
Causes of Waterhammer
 Waterhammer can be caused by many events including:
o Valve closure or opening (in full or in part)
o Pump speed change
• Trip or startup
o Relief valve opening
o Rapid tank pressurization
o Periodic pressure or flow conditions
 Force Imbalances
 Waterhammer causes pressure changes and transient
force imbalances
o A result of fast moving pressure waves
o Elbow pairs are especially susceptible as temporary pressure
differentials can create large unbalanced forces
Waterhammer Video
Waterhammer Software
 Waterhammer is sufficiently complicated that software is
usually required to determine:
o Peak pressure magnitudes
o Transient forces vs. time

 Effects of transient forces can be evaluated using

CAESAR II
Waterhammer Software
 BOS Fluids – Dynaflow Research Group (Netherlands)
o Work closely with Paulin Research Group
o Intergraph CADWorx & Analysis Dealer
o Imports CAESAR II input files
o www.dynaflow.com
Waterhammer Software
 AFT Impulse™ - Applied Flow Technology (Colorado)
o AFT Impulse has been commercially available since 1996
o CodeCAD is the Canadian dealer for AFT
o www.aft.com
Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 In this scenario, pressure differences between elbows

cause a net unbalanced force.
Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 The pressure increase from a change in flow velocity

can be calculated as
dP = ρ c V
ρ = fluid density
c = wavespeed also known as celerity
dV = change in velocity

In a gas/vapor, In a liquid,

k = specific heat ratio

R = gas constant
T = absolute temperature
K = bulk modulus
E = pipe modulus
Dm = mean pipe diameter
t = wall thickness
Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 Complexities of real systems quickly render hand-

calculations useless.
o How do pressures upstream & downstream of inline
components change and add or subtract?
o How do pressures change with reflection of pressure waves?
o What if a valve only partially closes?
o What happens with branches?
o What about other forms of energy transmission?
• Friction losses
• Momentum changes
• Area changes
Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 Complexities of real systems quickly render hand-

calculations useless.
 Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 Accuracy improved with consideration of fitting pressure

losses, friction & momentum
Other forces + PAA + PBA = 0
Friction & pressure loss forces

Force = PA x A Force = PB x A
Momentum = mAΔVX,A Momentum = mBΔVX,B

A=
πD2/4
ΣFfriction + PAA + PBA =
mAΔVX,A - mBΔVX,B
Calculating Unbalanced Forces

 Example: 1080 ft (330 m) system; valve closes 90%

over 2 seconds
 Limitations

 Transient force imbalances are a function of pressure

differences at a given time
o And therefore depend on the speed of the pressure wave

 When waterhammer pressures drop below vapor

pressure, transient vaporization (cavitation) can occur
o Changes the wavespeed
o Is difficult to model using modern methods and hence force
generation under cavitating conditions is not considered reliable
o Collapse of vapor cavities can cause large pressure spikes
o Preferable to avoid cavitation
 AFT Impulse & CAESAR II

 AFT Impulse can output force-time data for direct import

into CAESAR II
 AFT Impulse does not have 3-D coordinates and user
must match up AFT Impulse forces with CAESAR II
global coordinates
AFT Impulse & CAESAR II
 3 Ways to Analyze with
CAESAR II
 Static Equivalent
 Time-History Analysis
 Spectral Analysis (CAESAR II – AFT Impulse method
assumes this)
What is Time-History Analysis?

 Solves the fundamental equation of motion for a

single mass-spring system through time.
What is Time-History Analysis?

 A mathematical representation of an event

occurring over time
 What is Spectral Analysis?

 A prediction of the MAXIMUM response of the

system, without any sense of timing.
 What is Spectral Analysis?

 Each mode’s maximum response to an event is

calculated, then combined with the other
individual modal responses to predict the
overall maximum system response.
 And Static Analysis?
 Used to simulate a dynamic event with a static load

 Usually assume that the “dynamic effect” of quickly

applying a load doubles the response compared to the
same load applied statically.

 This load magnification is what is called the “Dynamic

Load Factor”, or “DLF”.

 DLF = 2 for “instantly” applied loads

 Static Analysis

Equating work done to energy in the spring:

W x = ½ kx2
2W = kx
 AFT Impulse Import
 Tools > External Interfaces > AFT Impulse
 AFT Impulse Import
 Tools > External Interfaces > AFT Impulse
 AFT Impulse Import
 Open Dynamic Input; Input is almost complete
 AFT Impulse Import
 Define Force Sets
 AFT Impulse Import
 Link the response spectrum to forces
 AFT Impulse Import
 Static/Dynamic Combinations
 AFT Impulse Import
 Review/Set Control Parameters & Run
 AFT Impulse Import
 Let’s go see…
Results Comparison
 Conclusions
 It is important to model waterhammer events for proper system
design and operation
 AFT Impulse can generate transient forces which can be easily
imported into CAESAR II
 Manual force estimation techniques can be used only for very
simple scenarios
 Force imbalances in systems with transient cavitation cannot be
reliably predicted because wavespeeds change
 Time-History analysis is the preferred analysis method for force-
time loading in CAESAR II
 Thanks for Listening!

Questions?