Author(s): Gabriel Soto; Fabian Rivera; Dario Guaycochea
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Valve slam; Check valves; Long pipelines; Causes of pipeline rupture
Abstract: Check valves are commonly used in pipeline systems. They are irreplaceable elements for the protection of pumping equipment; nevertheless, from the point of view of the transient phenomena its installation along the lines could represent a risk due to head oscillations (valve slam). This work shows some elements of a primary cause analysis to determine the relationship between these disturbances with respect to recurrent rupture, in a pipe section of 760 mm diameter and 40 kilometers length, located in the Southeastern part of Mexico The study is based on the transient analysis of this system, considering a sudden stop of the downstream pumping station. The results show that even for ideal operation conditions of the valve, water hammer upon valve slam can create overpressure that should be considered as a possible direct cause of these failures.
Year: 2007