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WATER HAMMER AND HOW IT IS CONTROLLED



Water hammer and how it is controlled. When a control valve or manual valve is shut fast in a full pipeline of
moving liquid, the liquid comes to a sudden stop. If the pipe suddenly starts banging and thrashing about you
can be sure a water hammer was created. Water hammer can cause great noise and damage. The pressure
surge can deform pipes and valves and start leaks. Keywords: momentum, pressure wave, valve stroke speed,
opening time.

How Water Hammer Occurs

To stop anything already moving requires a force pushing against it to take away its momentum, or energy of
motion. A valve shut quickly in a pipe full of moving liquid stops the liquid dead. An opposite, reaction force
is created in the liquid as it hits the valve and compress against it. During the split second it takes to squeeze
the water against the valve a huge pressure surge develops. It is the pressure surge from the change in momen-
tum that creates the water hammer that rattles pipes and damages plant and equipment.

The pressure wave rushes back up the pipe, stopping the liquid movement as it passes, and spurts out the inlet
end leaving a low pressure in the pipe. Now with low pressure in the pipe the liquid rushes back to the closed
valve and hits it again. The liquid is compressed against the valve and for a second time it is reflected back up
the pipe. The cycle repeats until the liquid finally comes to rest when the energy is dissipated through pipe
stress and the liquid movements. You can often hear the pressure wave bouncing about inside the pipe as it
gradually decays away. The pressure surge is gradually absorbed as it stresses the pipe walls and causes them
to expand. This removes the energy out of the pressure wave until it dissipates.

The pressure surges travel at the speed of sound for that liquid and reaches hundreds of kilometers per hour.
The more dense a liquid, (higher specific gravity) the faster the pressure surge. More dense liquids are heavier
and have bigger momentum for the same velocity. This means denser liquids produce higher water hammer
pressures when a valve is shut fast. The longer the column of liquid halted the greater the force created.

Any valve, which is closed faster than the time taken for the pressure surge to travel from the valve back to the
inlet and return to the valve again, will produce a water hammer. Calculations can be done to determine the
closing rate of a valve to be sure it is slow enough not to produce a hammer. The time depends on the liquid,
the pipe material properties and the length of pipe.

Even if the valve is located at the start of the pipe to create a short length of pipe, when the valve is closed too
fast the liquid downstream of the valve suffers the water hammer. In this case the moving liquid continues its
motion but creates a vacuum between the closed valve and the liquid. A negative pressure water hammer
occurs.


Abstract
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Controlling Water Hammer

There are several ways to control water hammer. The first and best is to not create it in the first place. Since
the hammer results from a sudden change in momentum it becomes necessary to slow the liquid gradually until
it is stopped. This requires a slow valve closure. Slow closure means the time it takes the valve to stroke,
from open to closed, is longer than the time it takes the pressure wave to travel back and forth to the valve.

Consider using valves that by their nature are slow to close. Such as diaphragm, globe and gate valves. If you
do need to use quarter turn valves like butterfly, plug and ball valves, then get them with a gearbox drive and a
hand wheel so operators can close them slowly. On pneumatically (air) actuated valves install a restrictor valve
in the discharge port or vent line so that the flow of air from the actuator can be controlled and the actuated
valve made to close slower.

A second technique is to install a surge tank or surge-diffusing device in the pipeline just upstream of the
valve. Any water hammer in the pipe blows into the surge tank, or device, and the pressure is vented safely into
the tank void. A common surge-diffusing device is a pressure arrestor mounted on the pipeline. These are
gas-pressurised chambers where a piston is pushed against the gas by the water hammer pressure. The piston
compresses the gas and absorbs the pressure surge. There are several designs available and on-site tests may be
needed to determine the successful design for your situation.

When designing piping layouts, try to minimise the volume of liquid in the pipelines without producing high
pipe friction losses along the pipeline. Examples are to keep the lengths of pipe between valves as short as
possible and use the smallest diameter pipe viable.


Content Based
Chemical Engineering
Fax: 561-658-6489
Email: support@cheresources.com
2830 Providence Creek Road
Richmond, VA 23236
COPYRI GHT, 2002. CHERESOURCES, I NC.
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Content Based
Chemical Engineering
Fax: 561-658-6489
Email: support@cheresources.com
2830 Providence Creek Road
Richmond, VA 23236
COPYRI GHT, 2002. CHERESOURCES, I NC.
Mike Sondalini
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