Causes of water hammer in condensate pipelines
Thread Content
In recent days, water hammer in the medium-pressure condensate pipes of the plant has been quite severe; sometimes it occurs in the main pipe and other times in a certain branch pipe. The plant is currently in the startup phase, and the amount of condensate is relatively low. Could this be related to the occurrence of water hammer? Also, if the steam traps are of poor quality and allow steam to leak into the condensate pipes, could that also cause water hammer? I would appreciate some advice from experts. This post was last edited by brainandrain on 2009-4-7 21:44]
One more thing: the branch pipes that are subject to water hammer frequently enter from the top of the condensate main. When they are put into use, there is definitely non-condensable gas inside, which could also be a cause of water hammer. Moreover, if there is an opening at the top, pressure fluctuations caused by other condensates passing through there might also lead to water hammer. In addition, having too many elbows seems to have an impact as well; I counted and found that there are six elbows from the reboiler to the condensate main. :Although the problem isn’t that serious, it still needs to be fixed. Please, experienced users, give me some advice!
The fundamental way to eliminate water hammer is to maintain thermal equilibrium throughout the entire pipeline. If the temperature of the entire pipe can be kept consistent, I think water hammer will no longer occur. The original poster can give it a try.
When the pressure before the steam trap is significantly higher than the pressure behind it, the condensate expands due to pressure reduction, generating steam. This steam comes into contact with cooler water flowing in the branch pipe, resulting in water hammer.
In the condensate system, the condensate undergoes secondary vaporization due to pressure drops. When the vaporized steam comes into contact with the cold condensate, water hammer can occur. Additionally, when recovering steam condensate, secondary vapor is generated as a result of pressure drops during flow, resulting in a two-phase flow of vapor and liquid; an increase in flow velocity or a change in flow direction can also lead to water hammer."
Under normal circumstances, if there is only condensate in your condensate pipeline, water hammer will not occur; however, if it is a mixture of steam and cold liquid, water hammer will take place.
Which strainer’s bypass isn’t closed, allowing steam to get in? LZ can check them one by one; or maybe your reboiler is set too low, preventing the condensate from being drained.