Investigating the branching redesign strategy for surge control in pressurized steel piping systems

摘要

A compound technique-based branching design strategy was implemented to limit the wave oscillation period spreading induced by the conventional method. Basically, this technique used a ramified short-penstock made up of a couple of plastic material types including high- and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE). The simulations were performed using the method of characteristics (MOC) to discretize the one-dimensional unconventional water-hammer model. Case studies included up and down initiated surge scenarios. Results demonstrated that, comparatively, the compound technique exhibited significant improvement. In fact, the (HDPE-LDPE) sub-short-penstock layout-based compound technique (where the former corresponds to the dead end extremity of the short-penstock and the latter is lumped to the steel pipe) allowed a higher attenuation of pressure surge magnitude and a lower spreading of wave oscillation period. Furthermore, examination of the employed plastic sub-short-penstock lengths and diameters dependency upon the surge magnitude attenuation and wave oscillation period spreading helped estimate the near-optimal design values of the sub-short-penstock diameter and length.