Calibrating the water-hammer response of a field pipe network by using a mechanical damping model

Hydraulic transient field tests have been conducted in a water distribution network. Existing transient models are applied to model the measured responses, but poor matches are obtained apart from the estimation of the initial rise of pressure. Possible reasons for these discrepancies include the effects of demands, entrained air, unsteady friction, friction losses associated with small lateral pipes, and mechanical damping caused by the interaction of pipes and joints with surrounding soils (including the effects of vibration and different degrees of restraint). These effects are systematically investigated by inclusion of the previously mentioned phenomena in conceptual transient models and calibration to the measured field responses. A mechanical damping-based conceptual transient model is shown to be the only model that can be accurately calibrated to the measured field responses. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.M. L. Stephens, M. F. Lambert, A. R. Simpson, and J. P. Vitkovsk