Effects of Free Outflow in Rising Mains with Air Chamber

Antonio Rosario Di Santo1; Umberto Fratino2; Vito Iacobellis3; and Alberto Ferruccio Piccinni4
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Abstract: Air chamber design is usually accomplished by the use of charts or numerical models based on the classic boundary condition
of a constant-level downstream reservoir. However, a constant-level downstream reservoir typically does not exist in currently operating
facilities. The downstream end of the rising main is usually designed with the outlet at a level above the maximum allowed in the
receiving reservoir. Such a scheme is usually chosen in order to avoid the loss of stored water in case of leakage or breakdown of the
pipeline. For this reason, the final section of the discharge pipeline is often fitted with a vertical pipe with free outflow. This particular
downstream condition influences the transient state that occurs following a power failure in the pump. In this paper, we focus on the
variations of maximum and minimum pressures and water-level oscillations that arise in the terminal section of the rising main, by means
of complete transient analysis. The rigid water column model is used to provide design charts for preliminary design. A numerical
investigation using dimensionless parameters is performed to investigate the system behavior within the significant ranges of system-
characteristic quantities. Field experiments were performed on a pump–pipeline discharge system located in a water supply system in
southern Italy. The recorded pressure traces are compared with results obtained from a model that accounts for this particular downstream
boundary condition.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9429共2002兲128:11共992兲
CE Database keywords: Air chambers; Pumping stations; Water pipelines; Design criteria; Experimental data; Field investigations;
Outflows.

Introduction
The unsteady transient flow caused by a power failure in the
discharge pipe of pumping systems equipped with an air chamber
has been extensively studied in the last century. Pioneering work
was done by Allievi 共1937兲 and Evangelisti 共1938兲. These authors
described analytically the transient conditions using models that,
respectively, account for and neglect the compressibility of water
and/or the pipeline. A number of early studies focused on the
production of charts for the preliminary design of the air chamber
共Evangelisti 1938; Evans and Crawford 1954; Fok 1978,
Chaudhry 1987兲. Most of these studies are based on the rigid
water column model. Paoletti 共1972兲 investigated the applicability
of this hypothesis, while Thorley and Lastowiecki 共1985兲 and
Modica and Pezzinga 共1989兲 highly recommended using com-
plete transient models, which account also for the profile of the
1
Full Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Po-
litecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona, 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy. E-mail:
a.disanto@poliba.it
2
Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale,
Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona, 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy. E-mail:
u.fratino@poliba.it
3
Lecturer, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Politec-
nico di Bari, Via E. Orabona, 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy. E-mail:
v.iacobellis@poliba.it
4
Associate Professor, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale,
Politecnico di Bari, Via E. Orabona, 4, I-70125, Bari, Italy. E-mail:
af.piccinni@poliba.it
Note. Discussion open until April 1, 2003. Separate discussions must
be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing Editor.
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible
publication on August 9, 2000; approved on May 1, 2002. This paper is
part of the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 128, No. 11, Novem-
ber 1, 2002. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/2002/11-992–1001/$8.00⫹$.50
per page.
discharge line. The same authors indicated that the throttled ori-
fice at the entrance of the air chamber may give rise to downsurge
conditions that cannot be predicted by the rigid water column
model, especially at the midlength or final sections of the dis-
charge pipe. Popescu 共1985兲 and Modica and Pezzinga 共1989,
1990兲 investigated the idea of placing particular devices for asym-
metrical throttling of the air chamber and Lee 共1998兲 analyzed the
effects of air entrainment in pumping systems provided with an
air chamber.
In this study, we discuss the classical assumption of the pres-
ence of a constant-level reservoir at the pipeline downstream end.
This condition does not always exist in real installations where,
according to existing design rules, it is advisable to separate the
discharge pipeline from the receiving reservoir. The objective is
to prevent losing stored volume in the case of rupture of the rising
main and avoid level variations at the downstream end that could
influence the system’s working conditions. This may be achieved
by use of a small receiving tank with a free outlet into the reser-
voir. Commonly, a vertical shaft of height comparable to that of
the reservoir, with a cross-sectional area of the same size as that
of the rising main and free outflow at a higher level than the
maximum allowed for the reservoir water is realized 共Fig. 1兲.
We analyze the influence of such downstream boundary con-
ditions on the operational behavior of the system. Numerical
models 共Di Santo et al. 1994; Fratino and Iacobellis 1997兲 and
field experiments indicate that considerable variation in water lev-
els may occur in the last section of the pipeline during the tran-
sient flow following pump stoppage. In most cases, this produces
relief of the maximum pressure in the pipeline, but other prob-
lems arise in the last pipeline section. In particular, oscillation of
the water level should be contained within the vertical shaft and
not reach the subhorizontal parts of the pipeline. If the water is
not contained in the vertical shaft, there is the risk of either water
pollution or entrainment of air in the pipeline. Therefore, a com-

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Fig. 1. Definition sketch of the pump–discharge system with down-
stream free outflow
plete design procedure including control of maximum and mini-
mum pressures in the pipeline should determine whether the ter-
minal vertical shaft has dimensions 共length and cross-sectional
area兲 suitable for containment of the entire range of the oscillation
levels.
In order to validate our theoretical results, field experiments
were performed on a real installation. The pump–pipeline dis-
charge system used for this purpose is part of the water supply
system of Minervino Murge 共a small town in southern Italy兲.
The next section describes the behavior of the system by com-
plete transient analysis. The section following that uses the rigid
water column. Based on this model, charts for preliminary design
of both the air chamber and the terminal shaft are provided, illus-
trating the air chamber either without throttling or with a ‘‘nor-
mal’’ throttling orifice. The applicability of the rigid water column
model for installations provided with a terminal shaft is also dis-
cussed. The field experiment section describes the field measure-
ments and makes comparisons with the model results.
Transient Analysis
Consider the system in Fig. 1, under the following conditions:
1. The pump station is provided with a check valve that, after
pump power failure, causes the flow in the upstream section
of the discharge line to instantaneously drop from the steady
state value to zero.
2. The air chamber, with or without throttling orifice, is placed
downstream of the check valve.
3. The discharge line consists of a constant single-diameter
horizontal pipe 关as shown by Di Santo et al. 共1994兲, the hori-
zontal pipe scheme is accurate for slopes typically used in
real water systems兴;
4. The downstream boundary of the system is defined by a
vertical shaft of constant cross section with free outlet above
the maximum water level allowed in the reservoir.
The governing equations under transient conditions are ob-
tained assuming that the fluid is slightly compressible and linearly
elastic and that the walls of the conduit are slightly deformable.
Head losses during the transient are computed by means of the
steady-state formula. The continuity and momentum equations
are
⳵h 1 ⳵Q
⫹ ⫹J⫽0
⳵s gA ⳵t
(1)
⳵Q gA ⳵h
⫹ 2 ⫽0
⳵s c ⳵t
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2002, 128(11): 992-1001
where Q⫽volumetric discharge, A⫽cross-sectional area of the
discharge line, h⫽absolute pressure head, t⫽time, g
⫽gravitational acceleration, c⫽wave speed, and J⫽head loss per
unit of pipeline length. J will be hereafter calculated as:
J⫽⫾␣Q 2 (2)
One further needs initial and boundary conditions, which are
given here assuming that the discharge pipeline is divided into a
number of reaches. The sections between reaches are referred to
as nodes. The nodes are identified by the abscissa s, which is
measured from the pipeline upstream end. Quantities without sub-
scripts refer to the generic node while subscript c refers to the
node where the air chamber is located.
Boundary conditions:
1. at the first pipe section corresponding to the position of the
check valve (s⫽1):
Q1共t兲⫽0共t⬎0兲 (3)
2. at the air chamber position, at distance s c from the first node,
we assume that a positive discharge Q c flows into the air
chamber and denote by subscripts u and d the nodes imme-
diately upstream and downstream of the air chamber. Then,
Q u 共 t 兲 ⫽Q d 共 t 兲 ⫹Q c 共 t 兲 (4)
h c 共 t 兲 ⫽h s c ⫿␤Q 2c 共 t 兲 (5)
where h c ⫽pressure head inside the air chamber, h s c ⫽pressure
head in the pipeline outside the air chamber, and ␤
⫽concentrated head loss at the air chamber orifice per unit of
discharge. The discharge flowing into the air chamber, Q c , is
related to the air volume inside the air chamber, U, as
dU 共 t 兲
Q c共 t 兲 ⫽ (6)
dt
while the equation
h c 共 t 兲 U n 共 t 兲 ⫽H stU stn (7)
accounts for the thermodynamic transformation of the air charac-
terized by the exponent n. The subscript ‘‘st’’ refers to the static
condition.
In addition, we consider a continuity equation applied to the
last reach of the pipeline. The subscript p refers to the down-
stream end of the pipeline, Q p,s f ⫽discharge into the downstream
reservoir, ␮⫽flow coefficient, L p,s f ⫽crest length of the pipe out-
let, and A p ⫽cross-sectional area of the vertical shaft. The bound-
ary conditions at the downstream end of the pipeline are then
dh p 共 t 兲
Q p 共 t 兲 ⫺Q p,s f 共 t 兲 ⫽A p (8)
dt
where
Q p,s f 共 t 兲 ⫽␮L p,s f 冑2g 关 h p 共 t 兲 ⫺H st兴 3/2 when h p 共 t 兲 ⬎H st
(9a)
Q p,s f 共 t 兲 ⫽0, when h p 共 t 兲 ⭐H st (9b)
where H st⫽absolute pressure head under static conditions. The
datum plane for the pressure heads, always considered as abso-
lute, passes by the axis of the pipeline in the section next to the air
chamber.
The previous set of equations describes the unsteady flow fol-
lowing the sudden interruption of discharge, with initial condi-
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / NOVEMBER 2002 / 993
 tions at all nodes equal to the steady-state conditions. In the fol- and the initial conditions may be written as
lowing, all quantities related to the steady-state condition are
v共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽1; z c 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽h 0 ⫹␸ ⫺2/3, z p 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽␸ ⫺2/3
identified by the subscript ‘‘o.’’
The equations can be expressed in dimensionless form by in- u 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽ 共 1⫹h 0 ⫹␸ ⫺2/3兲 ⫺1/n (20)
troducing the following variables:
Q h⫺H st s U t
v⫽ , z⫽ , x⫽ , u⫽ , ␶⫽ (10) Rigid Water Column Model, Numerical Investigation,
Q0 H st L U st L/c
and Preliminary Design Charts
and the parameters: The equations of the previous section give a complete description
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␣Q 20 L ␤Q 20 AL V 20 cV 0 of the transient. Here, we present results from a numerical inves-

h 0⫽ , k 0⫽ , ␴⫽ , ␳⫽ tigation under the condition ␳⫽⬁. This case, which corresponds
H st H st H stU st 2g gH st
to the rigid water column model, is used to investigate the influ-
(11a)
ence of the terminal shaft on the behavior of the whole system.
␮L p,s f 冑2gH st3/2 AL V 0
2 Indeed, for preliminary design, it is still quite common to use
␸⫽ , ⑀⫽ 2 (11b) design charts from rigid water column theory. In this case, the
Q0 A ␳ H st 2g
discharge varies with time but is constant along the pipeline.
where L⫽length of the discharge line and V 0 ⫽mean steady-state Then, the momentum equation simplifies to
velocity obtained as L dQ 共 t 兲
⫺ 关 h c 共 t 兲 ⫺h p 共 t 兲兴 ⫾ 共 ␣⫹␤ 兲 Q 2 共 t 兲 ⫽0 (21)
V 0 ⫽Q 0 /A (12) gA dt
All the parameters in Eq. 共11兲 have physical meaning. The Equations 共6兲–共9兲 and 共21兲 completely describe the rigid water
parameters h o and k o refer to the distributed head loss and the column oscillation where the quantities Q(t), h c (t), U(t), and
concentrated loss at the air chamber orifice, respectively. The pa- h p (t) are considered unknown and the initial conditions corre-
rameter ␴ expresses the ratio of the steady-state potential energy spond to steady-state values.
of the air in the air chamber to the steady-state kinetic energy of Equation 共21兲 can be written in dimensionless form using the
the water in the discharge line. ␳ depends on the ratio of the quantities defined in Eq. 共11兲 except dimensionless time ␶ given
steady-state kinetic energy to the total potential energy in a unit by

冑
length of the conduit. Besides these, which are standard in char-
gAH st
acterizing air chamber behavior, we have introduced the param- ␶⫽t (22)
eters ⑀ and ␸. The parameter ⑀ is the ratio between the kinetic LU st
energy of the fluid in the pipeline under steady state and the Then, Eq. 共21兲 becomes
potential energy of the water volume contained in the vertical
pipe under static conditions. ⑀ is zero when the terminal section of d v共 ␶ 兲
冑2␴ ⫺ 共 z c ⫺z p 兲 ⫾ 共 h 0 ⫹k 0 兲v 2 共 ␶ 兲 ⫽0 (23)
the discharge pipeline is represented by a constant water-level d␶
reservoir. The ␸ parameter depends on the ratio between the static with boundary conditions (␶⬎0):
absolute pressure head H st and the steady-state head over the
outlet crest. The classical hypothesis of constant head at the du 共 ␶ 兲
⫽ 冑2␴ v共 ␶ 兲 (24)
downstream boundary is obtained for ␸→⬁. d␶
The dimensionless equations are
1
⳵z ⳵v u共 ␶ 兲⫽ (25)
⫹␳ ⫾h 0 v 2 ⫽0 关 1⫹z c 共 ␶ 兲兴 1/n
⳵x ⳵␶

冑
(13)
␴ dz p 共 ␶ 兲
⳵z ⳵v v共 ␶ 兲 ⫺␸z 3/2
⫹␳ ⫽0 p 共 ␶ 兲⫽ with z p 共 ␶ 兲 ⭓0 (26a)
⳵␶ ⳵x 2⑀ 2 d␶

with boundary conditions:

v 1 共 ␶ 兲 ⫽0 共 ␶⬎0 兲 (14)
v共 ␶ 兲 ⫽ 冑 ␴ dz p 共 ␶ 兲
2⑀ 2 d␶
, with z p 共 ␶ 兲 ⬍0 (26b)

v u共 ␶ 兲 ⫽ v d共 ␶ 兲 ⫹ v c共 ␶ 兲 (15) and initial conditions

z c 共 ␶ 兲 ⫽z s c 共 ␶ 兲 ⫿k o v 2c 共 ␶ 兲 (16) v共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽1, z c 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽h 0 ⫹␸ ⫺2/3, z p 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽␸ ⫺2/3

u 共 ␶⫽0 兲 ⫽ 共 1⫹h 0 ⫹␸ ⫺2/3兲 ⫺1/n (27)
du 共 ␶ 兲 2␴
⫽ v 共␶兲 (17) We have studied the behavior of the system for different val-
d␶ ␳ c
ues of the dimensionless parameters n, h 0 , k 0 , ␴, ⑀, and ␸. Re-
1 sults are discussed next in terms of the quantities z max and z min ,
u共 ␶ 兲⫽ (18) respectively, the maximum and minimum transient values of z c ,
关 1⫹z c 共 ␶ 兲兴 1/n
and the minimum value of z p :z p,min . The exponent n of the ther-
␳ dz p 共 ␶ 兲 modynamic transformation of the air in the air chamber has been
v p 共 ␶ 兲 ⫺␸z 3/2
p 共 ␶ 兲⫽ with z p 共 ␶ 兲 ⭓0 (19a) set to the conservative value of 1.41. A sensitivity analysis has
2⑀ d␶
been performed for the other five parameters.
␳ dz p 共 ␶ 兲 The ranges of variables are 0–0.5 for h 0 and 0–0.7 for ␴, as in
v p共 ␶ 兲 ⫽ with z p 共 ␶ 兲 ⬍0 (19b)
2⑀ d␶ Evangelisti 共1938兲. The range of ⑀ has been set to 0–0.20 while ␸

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Fig. 2. Sensitivity of z max , z min , and z p,min to parameter ␸
has been assumed equal to 103 . The range of ⑀ was chosen con-
sidering the observed variability on real installations, but the con-
stant value of ␸ deserves further explanation. Generally, it is ad-
visable to shape the downstream section of the terminal shaft in
order to increase the cross-sectional area by means of a cone-
shaped vertical expansion. Such design allows water to discharge
from the pipe with subcritical flow, as over a curved sharp-crested
weir, with a small height relative to the weir crest. Using typical
dimensions of real installations, ␸ ranges between 102 and 104 .
We have found that, for different sets of the other parameters,
z max , z min , and z p,min are quite insensitive to ␸ in this range 共Fig.
2兲. As a consequence, in the analyses that follow we consider the
system behavior as independent of the shape and size of the
shaft’s crest and set ␸ to the constant value 103 .
For the air chamber without throttling (k 0 ⫽0) and different
values of ⑀ and h 0 , Fig. 3共a兲 shows how z max , z min , and z p,min
vary with ␴. In particular, Fig. 3共a兲 is divided into six diagrams,
one for any value of h 0 , two for any line. Anyone of these dia-
grams is divided into two parts, representing on the top the vari-
ability of z max and z min and on the bottom the curves of z p,min .
Notice that, for any given h 0 , the curves of z min for different
values of ⑀ collapse into one curve that represents also the con-
dition of the constant-level downstream boundary. In fact, the first
pressure wave, which follows the sudden arrest of the pump and
is responsible for the downsurge z min , is not influenced by the
boundary conditions at the downstream end of the system.
The parameter z max is less consistent, especially for large val-
ues of ⑀, for which the terminal shaft behavior is far from that of
a reservoir of infinite capacity. Then, the small cross-sectional
area of the terminal shaft magnifies the amplitude of the oscilla-
tion as the first downsurge wave passes and the hydraulic discon-
nection between the pipeline and the receiving reservoir prevents
the reservoir from discharging into the pipeline during the tran-
sient reversal of flow. As a consequence, the value of z max , which
is reached at the same time of z p,min , decreases with decreasing
minimum level in the terminal shaft during the water column
oscillation. By contrast, a terminal shaft with a large cross-
sectional area tends to behave as an infinite reservoir and is able
to supply the discharge line during the phase of compression in
the air chamber, without significant water-level oscillation in the
terminal shaft. As confirmation, observe that the values of z max for
⑀⫽0 correspond to those derived from the Evangelisti charts
under the hypothesis of constant head at the downstream bound-
ary.
Fig. 3共a兲 also shows the dependence of z p,min on ⑀. The abso-
lute value of z p,min increases as the cross-sectional area of the
terminal shaft decreases. Even in this case, the variability is due
to the different water masses involved in the column oscillation.
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2002, 128(11): 992-1001
These plots are of particular interest for the prediction of system
behavior. As seen in Eq. 共10兲, z p,min is a dimensionless variable
with values between 0 and ⫺1. However, to avoid emptying a
large part of the discharge pipeline, z p,min must be restricted to a
narrow range. When the system is designed with no consideration
for such a downstream condition, the error in the estimation of
z max is negligible for ⑀ close to zero. For larger ⑀, z max is overes-
timated and the design is conservative. The same is not true for
z p,min , as the charts in Fig. 3共a兲 show that the system easily ex-
periences water-level oscillations comparable with H st . In this
case one should use models capable of describing such phenom-
ena and possibly design the terminal shaft cross-sectional area to
reduce the water-level oscillation.
We have also performed an analysis for the case of ‘‘normal
throttling,’’ as defined by De Sparre 共in 1911, as quoted by Evan-
gelisti 1938兲, using
k 0 ⫽h 0 ⫹ 兩 z min兩 (28)
Eq. 共28兲 results from the use of a symmetric throttling orifice that
provides a maximum initial drop equal to the final maximum
downsurge 共see, also, Paynter 1971兲.
Fig. 3共b兲 shows z max , z min , and z p,min , in the case of the air
chamber with throttling, for the same set of parameters above
defined. Considerations similar to those in Fig. 3共a兲 can be made.
In order to identify the range of applicability of the rigid water
column 共RWC兲 model, a numerical investigation has been made
for ␴, ⑀, ␳, and h 0 , in the ranges 0.025–0.5, 0.2–5, 0–0.2, and
0–0.5, respectively. The dimensionless equations in section on
transient analysis have been solved by the method of characteris-
tics.
We considered admissible the values of the elasticity param-
eter ␳ that satisfy
冏 z RWC⫺z CT
z RWC
冏
⭐0.05 (29)
where z RWC and z CT⫽values obtained for z max (z min and z p,min) in
the rigid water column and the complete transient 共CT兲 model,
respectively. In other words, the criterion defined in Eq. 共29兲 com-
pares the values obtained for z max (z min and z p,min) for a given ␳,
with those obtained by the rigid water column model (␳⫽⬁).
The application of the criterion defined by means of Eq. 共29兲, for
a given h 0 , leads to the definition of three surfaces 关 S(z max),
S(z min), and S(z p,min)] in the 共␴, ⑀, ␳兲 space. In this three-
dimensional space, the applicability domain is limited by the
compound surface S lim given, for any couple of ␴ and ⑀, by the
most restrictive condition on ␳ among the above-defined surfaces
obtained for z max , z min , and z p,min . The case of the constant-level
downstream reservoir is represented by the intersection of S lim
with the plane ⑀⫽0.
For the case of the air chamber without a throttling orifice
(k 0 ⫽0), Fig. 4 shows the variability of z max , z min , and z p,min with
␳ for different ⑀ and fixed h 0 and ␴. Fig. 4 is divided into three
parts, representing from top to bottom the variability of z max ,
z min , and z p,min . The curves for z max approach asymptotically the
value from the rigid water column model, being always lower,
with only small oscillations for small values of ␳. The parameter
z min is characterized by a decreasing trend and is essentially in-
dependent of ⑀. The curves for z p,min show a less regular behavior.
There is a decreasing trend for large ⑀, while for small ⑀ the
behavior is not monotonic.
Fig. 5共a兲 shows the three surfaces, S(z max), S(z min), and
S(z p,min), for h 0 equal to 0.2. For small values of ␳, the most
restrictive condition is given by S(z p,min) or S(z min), while for
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Fig. 3. Variability of z max , z min , and z p,min with ⑀ and ␴ obtained by rigid water column model; 共a兲 case without throttling and 共b兲 case with
throttling

higher values of ␳ the limiting factor is S(z max). The compound
surface for h 0 ⫽0.3 is shown in Fig. 5共b兲. Notice that the appli-
cability domain of the rigid water column hypothesis, which for
given h 0 coincides, in Figs. 5共a and b兲 with the volume on the
right side of the S lim surface, increases with increases with in-
creasing head loss under steady-state conditions. The evaluation
of z p,min is strongly affected by the elasticity of the system. In
fact, oscillations of z p,min are higher than for the rigid water col-
umn model. This happens, in particular, for small ␳ and h 0 , and,
under fixed ␳ and h 0 , for large ␴ 共small air chamber兲.
In the case of air chambers installed with the throttling orifice,
the applicability of the rigid water column hypothesis has been

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Fig. 3. „Continued兲

assessed referring to the ‘‘normal’’ throttling. In particular, the
throttling coefficient was determined by means of Eq. 共28兲, ne-
glecting the effects of elasticity on z min . The applicability domain
was determined through the same procedure as for the case
‘‘without throttling.’’ S lim surfaces were found in 共␴, ⑀, ␳兲 space
for different values of h 0 . In the example shown in Fig. 5共c兲, the
applicability in terms of the parameter domain is significantly
reduced relative to the case without throttling. Moreover, due to
the extreme irregularity of the compound surface, it is practically
impossible to define a simple and standardized criterion for the
assessment of model applicability. As a consequence, the use of a
model accounting for system elasticity is generally recommended.

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Fig. 4. Variability of z max , z min , and z p,min with ␳ obtained by the
complete transient model for different values of ⑀, ␴⫽0.20 and h 0
⫽0.10
Field Experiments
The layout of the system, sketched in Fig. 6, consists of a cen-
trifugal pump of nominal discharge 0.057 m3/s and total head 110
m 共Fiori et al. 1994兲. The pump discharge is conveyed to a rising
main of diameter 250 mm through a connecting pipe of diameter
150 mm. A Venturi check valve and a gate valve are placed down-
stream of the pump. The air chamber, of volume 0.300 m3, is
connected to the rising main with a throttling device. The latter is
realized by a thick-edged orifice plate of thickness 3 mm, with a
single axial circular hole of diameter 55 mm. The corresponding
␤ value is about 20,600 s2/m5. 共Idelchik 1994兲. The air volume in
the chamber in static condition is 0.180 m3. A cone-shaped di-
verging tube connected to a vertical shaft of length 3.75 m and
150 mm diam, with an outlet in the reservoir, constitutes the pipe
final segment. The geometrical discharge head, measured between
the pump axis and the outlet crest, is 98.45 m.
The measuring system consists of four pressure transducers of
the strain-gauge type, linked to a data acquisition system. The
transducers were applied at four points on the discharge pipeline:
No. 1 between the pump and the check valve, No. 2 between the
check valve and the air chamber, No. 3 at the beginning of the
rising main of diameter 250 mm, and No. 4 at the base of the
vertical shaft, close to the receiving reservoir.
998 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / NOVEMBER 2002
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2002, 128(11): 992-1001
Fig. 5. Applicability domain of the rigid water column model with
respect to z max , z min , and z p,min ; 共a兲 limiting surfaces, case without
throttling, h 0 ⫽0.2; 共b兲 resulting surface S lim , case without throttling,
h 0 ⫽0.3; and 共c兲 resulting surface S lim , case with throttling, h 0
⫽0.2
Head losses in the discharge pipeline were computed from
measurements under steady-state conditions. The equivalent
roughness 共accounting for local resistances from the gate valves
and curves along the pipeline兲 was found to be 0.5 mm for the
rising main and 5 mm for connection pipes. These values are also
consistent with the apparent age of the pipes.
Different tests have been carried out with steady flow rates,
0.052, 0.037, and 0.023 m3/s. A Venturi tube was used for mea-
suring the flow rate. Figs. 7 and 8 show the recorded pressure
trace only for the highest flow rate. The other rates produced
similar results. The pressure measurements at transducer Nos.
1–3 are relative to the datum plane passing through the pump
axis, whereas those at No. 4 are relative to the vertical shaft base.
Therefore, the height of the outlet crest coincides with the length
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Fig. 6. Schematic layout of the pump-rising main system in Minervino Murge 共southern Italy兲

of the vertical shaft 共3.75 m兲 and the recorded pressure height of vertical shaft shows that, in a few seconds after the pump trips,
4.2 m includes the head losses through the terminal pipe and the the water level drops below the outflow height and never reaches
outlet section. that level again during the subsequent water column oscillations.
The pressure records at the three transducers close to the The water quantity discharged in those few seconds represents the
pumps show the typical behavior of the rigid water column pro- lost water volume, which does not participate to the following
cess induced by the air chamber. Only small high-frequency transient process. The minimum water levels observed in the three
peaks appear, probably due to the effect of the throttling orifice or tests, measured from the outlet crest, are 2.25, 1.85, and 1.00 m.
closure of the check valve. Although quite fast, the check valve In all the tests, the period of the level oscillations does not
closure is not instantaneous and occurs 0.3 s after the pump shut- remain constant but progressively increases with time. This well-
down. One can see this in Fig. 7, where the pressure heads re- known phenomenon 共Graze 1971; Carron 1986; Milano et al.
corded upstream and downstream of the check valve are initially 1974兲 is due to the variation of the exponent n of the polytropic
practically coincident but diverge after complete closure of the
check valve 共on the right-bottom part of Fig. 7共a兲 closer inspec-
tion of the same pressure traces is shown兲. The literature on the
behavior of the check valve is rather extensive; see, for example,
Clarke 共1985兲, Jönsson 共1985兲, Kruisbrink et al. 共1986兲, Purcell
共1997兲, Rao et al. 共1999兲, and Purcell 共1999兲.
The records at the terminal section of the rising main show
pressure fluctuations, typical of the transients. They are probably
due to the complex pipe fitting system, which causes various re-
flections of the pressure waves. The trace of water level within the

Fig. 7. Pressure traces recorded by transducer Nos. 1 and 2, for

Q 0 ⫽0.052 m3 /s after pump stoppage. A detail of the same traces Fig. 8. Computed and recorded pressure traces for Q0
during the closure of the check valve is on the right bottom rectangle ⫽0.052 m3 /s; 共a兲 transducer No. 3 and 共b兲 transducer No. 4

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J. Hydraul. Eng., 2002, 128(11): 992-1001

 Table 1. Field Observations and Analytical Results of the Rigid Water Column Model
Test Parameters Field Measures
Q0 h max⫺Hst h min⫺Hst h p,min⫺Hst h max⫺Hst h min⫺Hst h p,min⫺Hst
No. 共m3 s⫺1兲 ␴ h0 k0 ⑀ ␳ 共m兲 共m兲 共m兲
1 0.052 0.06 0.055 0.46 0.004 0.84 13.1 ⫺35.9
2 0.037 0.03 0.029 0.25 0.002 0.60 12.0 ⫺26.1
3 0.023 0.01 0.011 0.10 0.001 0.37 8.7 ⫺14.1
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equation that describes the behavior of the air volume in the air
chamber. The parameter n is 1.41 at the beginning of the transient
process and then rapidly decreases as the transient continues.
As a first step in interpreting the data, the rigid water column
model described in the previous section 1 was used to reproduce
the system behavior. The results, summarized in Table 1, show
that this model provides reliable values for z max and z min , at least
for the test 共No. 1兲 with the highest flow rate, but fails to correctly
evaluate the minimum level oscillation. In fact, for this we obtain
the highest percentage error 共⫺38% for test No. 1兲 and underes-
timated values of 兩 h p,min⫺Hst兩 whose field measures 共2.3 m for
test No. 1兲 are less then, but not far from, the shaft height 共3.75
m兲.
Then, the complete transient model described in the section on
transient analysis was used to obtain the pressure at various points
of the rising main and in particular at transducer Nos. 3 and 4.
Also, in this case the results 共not shown here兲 were not com-
pletely satisfying. In fact, the model correctly predicts the maxi-
mum pressure values, but overestimates downsurge peaks in the
first seconds of the transient and does not reproduce the change of
the oscillation period during the transient.
Based on these arguments, the complete model was refined by
removing some of the standard simplifying hypotheses. The clo-
sure of the check valve was modeled considering a linear de-
crease of the upstream flow from the steady-state value to zero
during a time period estimated from pressure traces recorded by
transducer Nos. 1 and 2 共0.3 s for the 0.052 m3/s flow rate test in
Fig. 7兲. This adjustment made the computed downsurge peaks
disappear. The second refinement refers to the n exponent, which
was taken as linearly varying from 1.35 to 1.20 over a 30 s time
period 共this is about four times the period of the water column
oscillation兲. Thereafter, exponent n was kept constant. Fig. 8
shows that these changes produce good agreement between re-
corded and computed records. This holds true also for the water-
level oscillation in the terminal shaft, except for the high-
frequency peaks in the first few seconds of the transient.
The test results show also a faster smoothing of the pressure
wave amplitude than predicted by the model. Such behavior, well
known in the technical literature, raises questions on the applica-
tion of the steady-state formula to evaluate hydraulic head losses.
The numerical model, refined as described, accounts correctly
for the downstream boundary conditions. In order to provide a
measure of the influence of a downstream reservoir with a con-
stant level, the maximum upsurge was computed, resulting in an
overestimation of about 15% of the static level.
Conclusions
The transient behavior or pump-rising main systems that include
an air chamber with or without a throttling orifice and a discharge
pipeline with a terminal vertical shaft with free outflow has been
1000 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / NOVEMBER 2002
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2002, 128(11): 992-1001
RWC Results—Field Measure
Results of RWC Model Field Measure
共m兲 共m兲 共m兲 % h max % h min % h p,min
⫺2.3 12.0 ⫺39.2 ⫺1.4 ⫺8 9 ⫺38
⫺1.8 9.8 ⫺25.0 ⫺1.1 ⫺18 ⫺4 ⫺41
⫺1.3 7.6 ⫺13.1 ⫺1.0 ⫺13 ⫺8 ⫺25
investigated. The development of a complete design procedure for
such systems requires specific checks. In fact, besides sizing of
the air chamber, useful to contain the pressure surges, also the
terminal shaft dimensions need to be verified to assure that, dur-
ing the transient flow, the minimum water level does not drop
below the shaft base.
Numerical models that do not account for this particular down-
stream boundary condition lead to the overestimation of the pres-
sure upsurge and, therefore, of the air chamber size. Moreover,
such models do not provide information about the actual hydrau-
lic phenomena within the pipeline downstream section.
By using an analytical model based on the rigid water column
assumption, we have produced graphical tools for the evaluation
of the minimum level of the transient water column oscillation.
The charts should be useful for preliminary design of the air
chamber and the terminal section of the rising main. Complete
model runs are required to design air chambers with a throttling
orifice.
Comparisons between model results and field experiments fur-
ther support the following considerations:
1. The rigid water column model produce satisfactory predic-
tions of the upsurge and downsurge phenomena in the instal-
lation we have tested, which is provided with the throttling
orifice. On the other hand, a reliable simulation of the water-
level oscillation in the terminal shaft was obtained only
through the use of a complete transient model.
2. Following a sudden stoppage of the pumping system, the
behavior of the check valve critically influences the transient
response. Then, a correct analytical representation of the cor-
responding boundary conditions is essential to reproduce the
experimental results.
3. The polytropic exponent n and its variation during the tran-
sient play an important role. Initially 共when the system
quickly evolves under nearly adiabatic conditions兲, n is
higher, but subsequently n decreases.
4. Evaluation of the transient head losses requires further inves-
tigation. The steady-state formulas seem to underestimate the
head losses and their smoothing effect on the pressure wave
amplitude.
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