Influence of Entrapped Air Pockets on Hydraulic Transients in Water Pipelines

The pressure variations associated with a filling undulating pipeline containing an entrapped air pocket are investigated both experimentally and numerically. The influence of entrapped air on abnormal transient pressures is often ambiguous because the compressibility of the air pocket permits the liquid flow to accelerate but also partly cushions the system, with the balance of these tendencies being associated with the initial void fraction of the air pocket. Earlier experimental research involved systems with an initial void fraction greater than 5.8%; this paper focuses on initial void fractions ranging from 0 to 10% to more completely characterize the transient response. Experimental results show that the maximum pressure increases and then decreases as the initial void fraction decreases. A simplified model is developed by neglecting the liquid inertia and energy loss of a short water column near the air-water interface. Comparisons of the calculated and observed results show that the model is able to accurately predict peak pressures as a function of void fraction and filling conditions. Rigid water column models, however, perform poorly with small void fractions.