600 psi! Got ghosts in your pipes?

摘要

At some homes and buildings, there's an annoying echo that sounds long after the last wrench is turned and hammer swung. In some instances, it's as forceful as a sonic boom. Another variation sounds like ghosts rattling chains in the wall. Water hammer and a variety of a somewhat lesser annoyance - water chatter - are terms that describe the audible, rock n' roll world of piped systems big and small. Water hammer is the term used to define the destructive forces, pounding noises and vibration that can develop in a piping system when a column of liquid flowing through a line is abruptly stopped. The tremendous forces generated at the stopping point can be compared to an explosion. After a sudden valve closure, a Shockwave passes back and forth through the water column at roughly 4,500 fps, like a mini tsunami, causing the vibrations known as water hammer. "When water hammer happens, energy forces may cause damage throughout the piping system by the sudden shaking, pipe expansion and contraction," says Keefer Rader, owner of Outlaw Mechanical, a mechanical installation firm based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.