Numerical Solutions to Fast Transient Pipe Flow Problems

Abstract

We promote a finite volume method to solve a water hammer problem numerically. This problem is of the type of fast transient pipe flow. The mathematical model governing the problem is a system of two simultaneous partial differential equations. As the system is hyperbolic, our choice of numerical method is appropriate. In particular, we consider water flows through a pipe from a pressurized water tank at one end to a valve at the other end. We want to know the pressure and velocity profile in the pipe when the valve closes as a function of time. We find that the finite volume method is very robust to solve the problem.