Conference to tackle pressure surges

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 14, 2003

The 9th International Conference on Pressure Surges will build on the success of its predecessors by focusing on the successful applications and the latest research.

The safety and integrity of fluid distribution systems relies on anticipating and controlling transient flows.

System failure can seriously affect safety and cause contamination of the environment or fluid being transported.

Pump and pipe size are important considerations but only one aspect of hydraulic design.

Predicting transient behaviour through surge analysis is potentially more important and difficult.

It involves computer modelling to simulate the complex interaction of equipment, pipelines and fluid during normal, fault and emergency events.

Surge analysis is not currently subject to codes of practice so design constraints must be based on available knowledge and experience.

Appreciation of transient behaviour is being devolved from academic researchers and specialist consultants to designers, contractors, suppliers and owners.

These need to understand how theory is applied in the real world.

And they need to know how analytical results affect design decisions, how to balance alleviation costs and risks, how to define consistent design constraints, whether real systems behave as predicted and the critical parameters needed to implement successful solutions.

BHR Group's 9th International Conference on Pressure Surges builds on the success of its predecessors by focusing on the successful applications and the latest research to provide a forum for information exchange and technology transfer.

Since its inception in the 1970s the conference has fostered trans-industry, trans-national and trans-functional knowledge transfer related to the design, construction and operation of systems where unsteady flow phenomena occur.

The organisers have issued a call for papers for the conference, which will be held in Chester, UK on 24th-26th March 2004.

The technical committee is particularly interested in papers that highlight practical experiences and research advances, especially where they bring together authors from different industries or sectors.

Over the years the conference has premiered innovations and breakthroughs from the leading researchers and analysts, many of who will be present in Chester.

The advances made have been significant and this latest event presents an ideal opportunity to take stock.

It is expected that presentations will cover a wide range of industrial practice topics: good design practice and standards; surge alleviation and control strategies; benchmarking surge control devices and surge analysis software; innovative systems or applications; field or laboratory test results; and practical design information.

Research subjects to be covered include: modelling, simulation and verification techniques; advanced applications such as leakage detection; complex interaction phenomena; fundamental issues in numerical methods or fluid behaviour; and new techniques and applications for steady flow.

The conference brings together plant owners and operators, designers, consultants, surge analysis software providers and users, equipment suppliers and constructors from industries including water, oil and gas, nuclear, hydroelectric, petrochemical, automotive, aerospace, and building services.

The objective is to highlight that solutions found in one area are often relevant to others.

These industries often have to deal with the issues addressed by the conference and found in systems such as potable water, foul water, storm water, full/partially-full flow regimes, firewater, cooling systems, water injection, oil and chemical pipelines, power systems, and fuel systems.