Customer
Our client is the world's leading expert in the water and waste management sector. It uses its capacity for innovation to promote sustainable resource management.
Tested product
Pipelines :
A pipeline consists of pipes used to carry a fluid from point A to point B.
Objective
Check that the product is in good condition and that there is no deterioration of the product (leakage, breakage, etc.), check that the hose can withstand pressure and thermal shock throughout its life.
Apply cyclic and static pressure up to 25 bar and 450 bar to pipework.
And water hammer up to 50 bar.
Problematic issues
Simulate water hammer in a large diameter pipe.
Water hammer is a phenomenon that occurs when a quantity of water moves at high speed in a pipe and is stopped dead in its tracks (by the closing of a valve for example). The moving water has accumulated kinetic energy and this energy must be dissipated. The dissipation of this energy takes the form of a shock in the pipe.
In order to simulate this phenomenon in the laboratory, a sharp and configurable pressure increase must be generated (depending on the pipes tested: plastic, cast iron, etc.)
Solution and result
The proposed solution is a bench for applying cyclic and static pressure.
It is equipped with an autonomous power supply system. The machine is thus used without permanent connection to a supply and discharge network.
The equipment consists of several test circuits. Each circuit allows for purging and pressure testing.
- Circuit for cyclic pressure testing up to 25 bar
- Circuit for cyclic and burst tests up to 450 bar
- Circuit for water hammer testing up to 50 bar.
Each circuit is pressurised by a motorised plunger which compresses the water in the circuit. The movement of the pressure generator piston gives a volume measurement. A sudden variation in this volume measurement allows the detection of a leak or a burst.
How a test is carried out:
The product under test is placed in the sink. It is connected to the appropriate test circuit.
Once the product is filled and drained, the static pressure generator applies the programmed pressure according to a predefined profile.
The bench measures, displays and records the pressure and volume curves obtained.
If a leak is detected, the test stops automatically.
Water hammer:
To simulate a water hammer, a rapid rise in pressure is required. This pressure peak requires energy. In reality, this energy corresponds to the kinetic energy of moving water (with a large mass corresponding to a long length of pipe).
At the pipe under test, this kinetic energy is converted into pipe deformation energy. This corresponds to the product of the pressure increase and the volume delta (expansion of the pipe).
