A pipe burst at a river crossing. The rupture of a pump casing or impeller. Contaminated groundwater finding its way into the distribution system. These are just some examples of the costly damage caused by hydraulic transients. A proper transient analysis can help identify critical points in the system that need protection, and facilitate sound system design. It can also aid in eliminating the costly over-design that is often done to provide unnecessary protection.
Traditionally, transient flow analysis has been thought of as a complex phenomenon reserved for academic research and specialists. Bentley’s Haestad Methods Solution Center collaborated with Environmental Hydraulics Group (EHG) of Toronto, Canada, to demystify the complex science of hydraulic transients through the commercialization of HAMMER. As the original creator of the HAMMER technology, EHG developed and refined the software to meet the demands of their consulting business and used it to complete hundreds of major transient flow projects over the past two decades.
The HAMMER software equips water utilities with a total modeling and management solution to ensure the integrity and performance of their water distribution infrastructure. Hydraulic transients are the flow and pressure conditions that occur between two very different steady states. As a result, counter-intuitive phenomena can occur during transients, such as water going uphill or flashing into vapor. A transient condition is generally caused by the rapid closure of a valve, a pump tripping or starting, or rapid changes in demand. Relatively high pressure can rapidly alternate with low pressure conditions during the transient event, which can
result in failure of the system.
HAMMER’s robust analysis engine and sophisticated visualization tools provide a quick and comprehensive understanding of a system’s response to a transient event. By alerting water utilities of extreme transient pressures, HAMMER supports engineers in their efforts to reduce the risk of system failure, minimize leakage, improve operating strategies, and enhance water quality, all of which help to ensure the longevity of the infrastructure.