Waterhammer in Pipelines of Steam Boilers

Abstract

The waterhammer can occur in feedwater and steam pipelines of an industrial or utility steam boiler during transients, such as plant start-ups and feedwater pump trips. Two types of waterhammers can be distinguished: the water slug impact and the condensation induced water hammer (CIWH). Both types can induce high impact loads that can seriously damage or destroy the pipelines or pressure vessels. Therefore, it is very important to indicate operational transients that can lead to these accidental conditions and to investigate and apply the measures for their prevention. This paper presents cases of both types of waterhammer transients that have occurred at the industrial and utility steam boilers. These transients are numerically simulated and analyzed and the measures for their prevention are presented.