Waterhammer

GUIDANCE MATERIALS / INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS

Guidance Materials

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• 49 CFR § 195.406 – Maximum Operating Pressure: Code of Federal Regulations

  U.S. Domestic Code

  No operator may permit the pressure in a pipeline during surges or other variations from normal operations to exceed 110 percent of the operating pressure limit established under paragraph (a) of this section.

  Publication Date: 10/01/2022

  Author: U.S. Government Information

  Link: 49 CFR 195.406 – Maximum Operating Pressure: Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition). Title 49: Transportation. Subpart F: Operation and Maintenance. Saturday, October 1, 2022.

• 33 CFR 154.550 – Emergency Shutdown – Code of Federal Regulations

  U.S. Domestic Code

  Transfer fluids between ship and shore.
  1) 60 seconds on any facility or portion of a facility that first transferred hazardous material before October 4, 1990; and (2) 30 seconds on any facility that first transfers hazardous material on or after October 4, 1990.

  Publication Date: 07/21/2021

  Author: U.S. Government Information: Coast Guard

  Link: 33 CFR 154.550 – Emergency Shutdown – Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition). Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters. Subpart C: Equipment Requirements. Thursday, July 1, 2021.

• ASME B31.3 301.2.2

  Standard

  Provision shall be made to safely contain or relieve any pressure to which the piping may be subjected. Piping not protected by a pressure relieving device, or that can be isolated from a pressure relieving device, shall be designed for at least the highest pressure that can be developed.

  Sources of pressure to be considered include ambient influences, pressure oscillations and surges, improper operation, decomposition of unstable fluids, static head, and failure of control devices.

  Publication Date: 2023

  Author: ASME

  Link: ASME B31.3

• ASME B31.3 302.2.4

  Standard

  Occasional variations of pressure and/or temperature may occur in a piping system. Such variations shall be considered in selecting design pressure (para. 301.2) and design temperature (para. 301.3). The most severe coincident pressure and temperature shall determine the design conditions unless all of the following criteria are met.
  Occasional variations above design conditions shall remain within one of the following limits for pressure design.
  Subject to the owner’s approval, it is permissible to exceed the pressure rating or the allowable stress for pressure design at the temperature of the increased condition by not more than.
  33% for no more than 10 hr at any one time and no more than 100 hr/yr, or 20% for no more than 50 hr at any one time and no more than 500 hr/yr.

  Date: 2023

  Author: ASME

  Link: ASME B31.3

• ASME B31.4 401.2.2

  Standard

  401.2.2 Internal Design Pressure
  The piping component at any point in the piping system shall be designed for an internal design pressure which shall not be less than the maximum steady-state operating pressure at that point, or less than the static head pressure at that point with the line in a static condition. The maximum steady-state operating pressure shall be the sum of the static head pressure, pressure required to overcome friction losses, and any required back pressure. Credit may be given for hydrostatic external pressure, in the appropriate manner, in modifying the internal design pressure for use in calculations involving the pressure design of piping components (see para.404.1.3). Pressure rise above maximum steady-state operating pressure due to surges and other variations from normal operations is allowed in accordance with para. 402.2.4.

  402.2.4 Ratings – Allowance for Variations From Normal Operations
  – Surge pressures in a liquid pipeline are produced by a change in the velocity of the moving stream that results from shutting down of a pump station or pumping unit, closing of a valve, or blockage of the moving stream.
  – Surge pressure attenuates (decreases in intensity) as it moves away from its point of origin.
  – Surge calculations shall be made, and adequate controls and protective equipment shall be provided so that the level of pressure rise due to surges and other variations from normal operations shall not exceed the internal design pressure at any point in the piping system and equipment by more than 10%.

  Publication Date: 2022

  Author: ASME

  Link: ASME B31.4

• AWWA M51 Ed 2 – Air Valves: Air Release, Air/Vacuum, and Combination

  Standard

  Publication Date:

  Author: AWWA

  Link: AWWA M51 Ed 2 – Air Valves: Air Release, Air/Vacuum, and Combination

• AWWA M68 Water Quality in Distribution Systems – Chapter 9

  Standard

  Chapter 9 discusses low pressures in distribution systems due to transient pressures.

  Publication Date:

  Author: AWWA

  Link: AWWA M68 Water Quality in Distribution Systems

• AWWA M55 PE Pipe – Design and Installation, 2nd Ed

  Standard

  Chapter 4 Discusses Surge considerations in Polyethylene Pipe.

  Publication Date:

  Author: AWWA

  Link: AWWA M55 PE Pipe – Design and Installation, 2nd Ed

• AWWA M23 PVC Pipe – Design and Installation, 3rd Ed

  Standard

  Publication Date:

  Author: AWWA

  Link:  AWWA M23 PVC Pipe – Design and Installation

• Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology

  International Code

  • GRP, asbestos cement, and cement lined ductile/cast iron and steel-limit 1 metre of vacuum (-1 metre).
  • Bitumen lined ductile/cast iron and steel-limit 3 metres of vacuum (-3 metres).
  • uPVC, ABS, HDPE, MDPE – limit 3 metres of vacuum (-3 metres).

  Publication Date: 2007

  Author: QCS

  Link:

• Technical Standard TS 147 Surge Mitigating Infrastructure

  International Code

  0 m for all components and at any location within the system to minimize the creation of air pockets in both water and wastewater systems and avoid possible contamination via the ingress of external groundwater into potable water systems.

  However, if this minimum surge pressure cannot be achieved using dedicated surge mitigation infrastructure or otherwise, and the likelihood and impact of column separation is considered acceptable, then a minimum surge pressure to -9 m (full vacuum) may be accepted by SA Water.

  Publication Date: 04/07/2016

  Author: SA Water, Government of South Australia

  Link: Technical Standard TS 147 Surge Mitigating Infrastructure

• Fluid Mechanics, Water Hammer, Dynamic Stresses and Piping Design

  General Resource

  Power and Process Piping.

  Publication Date: 2013

  Author: Robert Allan Leishear

  Link: Fluid Mechanics, Water Hammer, Dynamic Stresses and Piping Design

• Fluid Transients

  General Resource

  This book is more theory based.

  Publication Date: 1994

  Author: Wylie, E.B. and Streeter, V.L.

  Link: Fluid Transients

• The Rules for Hydraulic Transient Design Analysis

  General Resource

  Hydro Power.

  Publication Date: 2018

  Author: Stanislav Pejovic

  Link: The Rules for Hydraulic Transient Design Analysis

• Pumping Station Design (3rd Edition)

  General Resource

  Chapters 6 and 7.

  Publication Date: 2008

  Author: Garr M. Jones

  Link: Pumping Station Design

• Fluid Transients in Pipeline Systems (2nd Edition)

  General Resource

  Publication Date: 2004

  Author: A R David Thorley

  Link: Fluid Transients in Pipeline Systems (2nd Edition)

• Applied Hydraulic Transients (3nd Edition)

  General Resource

  Publication Date: 2014

  Author: M Hanif Chaudhry

  Link: Applied Hydraulic Transients (3nd Edition)

• Design and Selection of Check Valves

  General Resource

  Publication Date: 2018

  Author: Valmatic

  Link: Design and Selection of Check Valves

• Dynamic Characteristics of Check Valves

  General Resource

  Publication Date: 2018

  Author: Valmatic

  Link: Dynamic Characteristics of Check Valves

• Pressure Transients in Water Engineering – A Guide to Analysis & Interpretation of Behaviour

  General Resource

  Publication Date: 2008

  Author: J. Ellis

  Link: Pressure Transients in Water Engineering – A Guide to Analysis & Interpretation of Behaviour

• Water Hammer: Practical Solutions

  General Resource

  Publication Date: June 3, 2011

  Author: B.B. Sharp & D.B Sharp

  Link: Water Hammer: Practical Solutions

• Guidelines for Transient Analysis in Water Transmission and Distribution System

  Best Practice

  Table 1. Overview of maximum allowable incidental pressures (MAIP) in international standards, expressed as a factor of the nominal pressure class.

  Publication Date: December 12th, 2012

  Author: Ivo Pothof and Bryan Karney

  Link: Guidelines for Transient Analysis in Water Transmission and Distribution System

• A Proposed Guideline For Applying Waterhammer Predictions Under Transient Cavitation Conditions Part 1 Pressures

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: October 26, 2018

  Author: Matthew Stewart, Trey W. Walters, Greg Wunderlich, Erin A. Onat

  Link: A Proposed Guideline For Applying Waterhammer Predictions Under Transient Cavitation Conditions Part 1 Pressures

• A Proposed Guideline For Applying Waterhammer Predictions Under Transient Cavitation Conditions Part 2: Imbalanced Forces

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: October 26, 2018

  Author: Matthew Stewart, Trey W. Walters, Greg Wunderlich

  Link: A Proposed Guideline For Applying Waterhammer Predictions Under Transient Cavitation Conditions Part 2: Imbalanced Forces

• Avoiding Pressure Surge Damage in Pipeline Systems

  Best Practice

  Publication Date:

  Author: Geoffrey D Stone

  Link: Avoiding Pressure Surge Damage in Pipeline Systems

• Verification and Control of Pressure Transients and Intrusion in Distribution Systems

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: May 23, 2005

  Author: Melinda Friedman, Lori Radder, Steven Harrison, Douglas Howie, Michael Britton, Glen Boyd, Hua Wang, Rich Gullick, Mark LeChevallier, Don Wood, Jim Funk

  Link: Verification and Control of Pressure Transients and Intrusion in Distribution Systems

• Criteria for Optimized Distribution Systems

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: January 1, 2012

  Author: Melinda Friedman, Gregory Kirmeyer, Jason Lemieux, Mark LeChevallier, Steven Seidl, Jan Routt

  Link: Criteria for Optimized Distribution Systems

• Guidelines for the Avoidance of Vibration Induced Fatigue Failure in Process Pipework

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: 2008

  Author: Energy Institute

  Link: Guidelines for the Avoidance of Vibration Induced Fatigue Failure in Process Pipework

• Guidelines for the Safe Design and Operation of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers to Withstand the Impact of Tube Failure

  Best Practice

  Publication Date: 2008

  Author: Energy Institute

  Link: Guidelines for the Safe Design and Operation of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers to Withstand the Impact of Tube Failure

GUIDANCE MATERIALS / INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS

Incidents and Accidents

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• Sinkhole Shuts I-25 in Denver; Water Main Ruptures

  News

  Incident ID: INC-0001a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Denver, CO
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: February 8, 2008
  Author: Unknown – Engineering News-Record
  Link:  Sinkhole Shuts I-25 in Denver; Water Main Ruptures

  News

  Incident ID: INC-0001b
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Denver, CO
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: February 7, 2008
  Author: Joey Bunch – The Denver Post
  Link: Sinkhole Shuts I-2 at I-70

  Thesis

  Incident ID: INC-0001c
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Denver, CO
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: Summer, 2013
  Author: Ali EL-Turki – Colorado State University
  Link: Modeling of Hydraulic Transients in Closed Circuits

• Water Hammer Resulting from Cavitating Pumps

  Article

  Incident ID: INC-0002a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Central Florida
  Industry: Phosphate Ore Slurry
  Publication Date: November 1964
  Author: M.R. Carstens & T.W. Hagler Jr – HY-6
  Link: Water Hammer Resulting from Cavitating Pumps

• Waterhammer Event on Aboveground Section of Oil Piping During Hydro Test

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0003a
  Incident Country: Ukraine
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Oil
  Publication Date: July, 2016
  Author: Igor Orynyak, Anatolii Batura, Iaroslav Dubyk – Proceedings of the ASME 2016 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference.
  Link: Water Hammer Event on Aboveground Section of Oil Piping During Hydro Test

  Article

  Incident ID: INC-003b
  Incident Country: Ukraine
  Incident Locality: Nadvirna, Ivano-Frankivsk
  Industry: Oil
  Publication Date: 2023
  Author: Unknown – IPP-CENTRE LTD
  Link: Water Hammer Event on Aboveground Section of Oil Piping During Hydro Test

• Modeling of Hydraulic Transients in Closed Conduits

  Thesis

  Incident ID: INC-0004a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Denver, CO
  Industry: Raw Water
  Publication Date: Summer, 2013
  Author: Ali EL-Turki – Colorado State University
  Link: Modeling of Hydraulic Transients in Closed Conduits

• Water Hammer Likely Cause of Large Oil Spill in North Sea

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0005a
  Incident Country: Norway
  Incident Locality: Offshore North Sea
  Industry: Oil
  Publication Date: July 9, 2010
  Author: Erik D. Nennie, Harry J. C. Korst, Knud Lundle, Rune Myklebust – Proceedings of the ASME 2009 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference.
  Link: Water Hammer Likely Cause of Large Oil Spill in North Sea

• Kaplan Turbine Incidents due to Reverse Water-hammer and Mathematical Model Confirmed by the Field Tests

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0006a
  Incident Country: Yugoslavia
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Hydropower
  Publication Date: November, 1993
  Author: Aleksandar Gajic – Proceedings of the International Symposium on Aerospace and Fluid Science.
  Link: Kaplan Turbine Incidents due to Reverse Water-hammer and Mathematical Model Confirmed by the Field Tests

• Water hammer and column separation due to accidental simultaneous closure of control valves in a large-scale two-phase flow experimental test rig

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0008a
  Incident Country: Neatherlands
  Incident Locality: Boussinesqweg, Delft
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: July 18-22, 2010
  Author: Anton Bergant, Jos M.C. van ‘t Westende, Tiit Koppel, Janez Gale, Qingzhi Hou, Zoltan Pandula, Arris S. Tijsseling – Proceedings of the ASME 2010 Pressure Vessels & Piping Division / K-PVP Conference
  Link: Waterhammer and column separation due to accidental simultaneous closure of control valves in a large-scale two-phase flow experimental test rig

• The Theory of Resonance in Hydropower Systems. Discussion of Incidents and Accidents Occurring in Pressure Systems

  Journal

  Incident ID: INC-0009a
  Incident Country: Unknown
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Hydropower
  Publication Date: December, 1963
  Author: Charles Jaeger – ASME Journal of Basic Engineering Volume 85, Issue 4
  Link: The Theory of Resonance in Hydropower Systems. Discussion of Incidents and Accidents Occurring in Pressure Systems

• Forensic transient analyses of two pipeline failures

  Journal

  Incident ID: INC-0010a
  Incident Country: Italy
  Incident Locality: Cosenza
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: June, 2004
  Author: Marko V. Ivetic – Urban Water Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2
  Link: Forensic transient analyses of two pipeline failures

  Journal

  Incident ID: INC-0011a
  Incident Country: Unknown
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Desalination
  Publication Date: June, 2004
  Author: Marko V. Ivetic – Urban Water Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2
  Link: Forensic transient analyses of two pipeline failures

• A Special case of Transient Forces on Pipeline Supports Due to Waterhammer Effects

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0012a
  Incident Country: Portugal
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Oil
  Publication Date: September, 1986
  Author: Almeida & Pinto
  Link: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Pressure Surges, Hanover F.R.Ger., Sept 22-24, 1986

• Failure Analysis of a Water Supply Pumping Pipeline System

  Journal

  Incident ID: INC-0013a
  Incident Country: Mexico
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: September 12, 2016
  Author: Oscar Pozos-Estrada, Alejandro Sánchez-Huerta, José Agustín Breña-Naranjo, Adrián Pedrozo-Acuña – MDPI Water Journal 2016 Issue 8
  Link: Failure Analysis of a Water Supply Pumping Pipeline System

• All Thing Nuclear Pipe Rupture at Surry Nuclear Plant Kills Four Workers

  Blog Post

  Incident ID: INC-0014a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Williamsburg, Virginia
  Industry: Surry Nuclear
  Publication Date: August 9, 2018
  Author: Dave Lochbaum – Union of Concerned Scientists
  Link: All Thing Nuclear Pipe Rupture at Surry Nuclear Plant Kills Four Workers

• Mokhtar Morsy’s Post

  LinkedIn Post

  Incident ID: INC-0015a
  Incident Country: Unknown
  Incident Locality: Unknown
  Industry: Unknown
  Publication Date: April 1, 2022
  Author: Mokhtar Morsy – LinkedIn
  Link: Mokhtar Morsy’s Post

• Investigating the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydro Power Plant Disaster

  Powerpoint Presentation

  Incident ID: INC-0016a
  Incident Country: Russia
  Incident Locality: Sayano-Shushenskaya
  Industry: Hydropower
  Publication Date: August 24, 2009
  Author: Euler Cruz, Rafael Cesario

  Article

  Incident ID: INC-0016b
  Incident Country: Russia
  Incident Locality: Sayano-Shushenskaya
  Industry: Hydropower
  Publication Date: August 18, 2009
  Author: Unknown – Daily Mail
  Link: Explosion at Russia’s biggest hydroelectric plant leaves up to 76 workers dead

  Article

  Incident ID: INC-0016c
  Incident Country: Russia
  Incident Locality: Sayano-Shushenskaya
  Industry: Power
  Publication Date: December 1, 2010
  Author: Alexander Boyko, Sergey Popov, Nemanja Krajisnik
  Link: Investigating the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydro Power Plant Disaster

• The Benefits of a Calibrated Surge Model. Protecting Rockville Maryland’s Water Transmission Main

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: INC-0017a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Rockville, MD
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: Unknown
  Author: Crystal Broadbent, Craig Daly – AWWA

• Operating Reactors Events Briefing 98-05 Flooding of ECCS Pump Rooms Caused By Fire Water System Valve Rupture

  Briefing

  Incident ID: INC-0018a
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: Hanford, WA
  Industry: Nuclear
  Publication Date: July 1, 1998
  Author: C. I. Grimes
  Link: Reactor Program Management, NRR

• Waterhammer Event in Alumina Refinery Causes Catastrophic Slurry Pump Failure

  Article

  Incident ID: INC-0019a
  Incident Country: Jamaica
  Incident Locality: Clarendon
  Industry: Mineral Processing
  Publication Date: April 12, 2023
  Author: T W Walters, S Chamberlain, Eval Robotham – Proceedings of the 14th International Pressure Surge Conference
  Link: Waterhammer Event in Alumina Refinery Causes Catastrophic Slurry Pump Failure

• Analysis of hydraulic pressure transients in the waterways of hydropower stations

  Paper

  Incident ID: INC-0006b, INC-0020a, INC-0021a, INC-0022a
  Incident Country: Yugoslavia, Sweden
  Incident Locality: Unknown, Stuguns, Jokkmokk
  Industry: Hydropower
  Publication Date: April, 2011
  Author: Nicklas Hillgren – Uppsala University
  Link: Analysis of hydraulic pressure transients in the waterways of hydropower stations

• Diagnostic Evaluation of a Severe Water Hammer Event in the Fire protection System of a Nuclear Power Plant

  Proceedings

  Incident ID: FEDSM99-6891
  Incident Country: USA
  Incident Locality: San Francisco, CA
  Industry: Water
  Publication Date: 1999
  Author: Arastu, A. H., LaFramboise, W. L., Noble, L. D., and Rhoads, J. E

• Water Hammer Handbook for Nuclear Plant Engineers and Operators

  Report

  Incident ID: INC-0023a
  Incident Country: Various
  Incident Locality: Various
  Industry: Nuclear
  Publication Date: May, 1996
  Author: Unknown – Electric Power Research Institute
  Link: Water Hammer Handbook for Nuclear Plant Engineers and Operators

GUIDANCE MATERIALS / INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS