Pressure Transients Caused by Tilting-Disk Check-Valve Closure

Abstract

Check valves are normally installed at pumping stations to prevent reverse flow through pumps after pump shutdown. Check-valve slam appears to be among the most common causes of water hammer in water supply systems. A methodology for the selection of a suitable check valve for a new pumping station to prevent water hammer after pump shutdown appears to be inadequate at present. A method for analyzing pressure surges caused by check-valve closure after pump shutdown, taking into account valve characteristics as well as characteristics of the pumping system, is proposed in this paper. This method can be used to select the most economical check valve at the design stage that will prevent slamming by limiting the pressure surge to a desired value.