NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF WATER HAMMER IN VARIOUS FLUIDS DUE TO A FAST VALVE CLOSURE

In this paper, the water hammer resulting from the fast closure of the valve in a pipeline is simulated using numerical solution of continuity and Navier-Stokes equations. Simulation has been performed for a high-viscosity oil and for water. The initial flow regime for water is turbulent and for the oil is laminar. The obtained results are compared with the experimental results and for both fluids, a good agreement between the simulation and experimental results at different times is obtained. Velocity contours at different times show two regions with different behavior in transient flow. The wall region and the pipe core region. In the wall region, the effects of fluid viscosity are dominant, the velocity gradients are sharper, and flow changes more rapidly. While the pipe core region is affected by fluid inertial forces. As the fluid viscosity decreases and the Reynolds number increases, the core region becomes larger. In addition, a parametric study has been conducted and the effect of different parameters on water hammer has been studied. The results show that by reducing the thickness or length of the pipe, reducing the mass flow rate, or using a pipe with a lower elastic modulus, the water hammer effects can be significantly reduced. For example, by reducing the length of the pipe from 60 meters to 18 meters, the maximum pressure decreases by 11%.