Numerical simulation of water hammer phenomenon using ANSYS Fluent: a comparative analysis with analytical models and laboratory data

Abstract

This study investigates the water hammer phenomenon using ANSYS Fluent, comparing numerical results with analytical models (Quasi, Zielke, and Brunone) and experimental data from a laboratory setup. The standard k-ε turbulence model was employed to simulate turbulent flow conditions. The findings reveal that the ANSYS-based water hammer simulation shows excellent agreement with both the experimental data and Brunone’s analytical model. Pressure variations were analyzed at two critical locations: the pipe midpoint and the valve vicinity, across different flow velocities. For instance, at a flow velocity of 0.1 m/s, the numerical model predicted a pressure head of 47.263 m near the valve, closely matching the experimental value (46.403 m) and outperforming the Zielke (45.307 m), Brunone (45.526 m), and Quasi (45.521 m) models. These results highlight the high accuracy and reliability of the numerical simulation in capturing water hammer dynamics, suggesting its effectiveness for practical hydraulic system analysis.