Understand and Mitigate Waterhammer in Fluid Processes

Understand and Mitigate Waterhammer in Fluid Processes

March 10, 2021 -- Colorado Springs, CO, USA -- In the March issue of Chemical Engineering Magazine, Applied Flow Technology's Business Applications Engineer, Walt Prentice, discusses how process design can become a rough estimate to meet code if you don't utilize a software, like AFT Impulse, to analyze wave behavior.

The article looks at high and low-pressure considerations, vapor formation, transient event mitigation, types of surge suppression equipment you can use, and finally waterhammer analysis software. 

From the article: "These days modeling allows engineers to better predict events and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Targeted pressure control makes processes safer and more efficient. But more robust mitigation efforts require more robust technology for guidance. Being able to predict the unanticipated low pressures, column separation, and subsequent high-pressure waves requires more time and calculation than most engineers care to invest. After all, the system is probably designed for steady-state.

Waterhammer software takes the pressure off the engineer by modeling the transient events, predicting expected behavior at various conditions, and checking the effectiveness of suppression methods. Even today, waterhammer analysis is not always part of the standard design process. Using the initially assumed “worst-case scenario” is often where the analysis starts and stops. Instead, take waterhammer analysis beyond the standard methods, and consider all the complex consequences of a change in flow."

 

  Read the Full Article  

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