MODELLING WATER DISTRIBUTION NElWORKS: FROM STEADY FLOW TO

WATER HAMMER

ENRIQUE CABRERA, JORGE GARCIA-SERRA AND PEDRO L. IGLESIAS

U.D. M ecimica de Fluidos
Departamento de ingenieria Hidrimlica y Medio Ambiente
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain

Abstract

Water supply systems modelling constitutes a basic tool for an adequate technical
management of those systems. In practical applications, it is frequent to use different
models depending on the problem to be analyzed: from the simplest one, the static
model, to the most complex one, the elastic inertial model, better known as water
hammer.

In this paper, general remarks of each model are explained, although the main emphasis
is put on their conventional applications.

1. Introduction

In order to get. a good management of a water supply network, the knowledge of the
system's response to different situations is required. Some questions to be answered are:

a) Which is the system response to a booster pumping station start up?

b) In which way is distributed throughout the network the chlorine injected in the
water treatment plant?

c) Which is the evolution of the water levels at the reservoirs during a current day?

d) Which is the system response after a basic pipe failure?

e) Which diameters are required to enlarge the existing network for a given purpose?
3
E. Cabrera and A. F. Vela (eds.), Improving Efficiency and Reliability in Water Distribution Systems, 3-32.
1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers.