Numerical investigation of water hammer in hydraulic pipelines via multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann and Peridynamic methods

Abstract

Water hammer is a significant transient phenomenon in pipes that is frequently associated with structural damage and operational inefficiencies. Proper prediction of fluid pressure and, consequently, structural deformation is of paramount importance in demanding rapid changes in pressure so as to obtain pipeline integrity. The available numerical techniques are basically used in fluid dynamics, but they do not provide an in-depth model of Fluid-Structure Interactions (FSI). Peridynamics is used to model the structural response of the pipeline, including crack initiation and propagation. Simulations were conducted at fluid velocities of 0.05 m/s, 0.10 m/s, and 0.15 m/s, showing an increase in peak pressures from 60,634.9 Pa at 0.05 m/s to 174,927.3 Pa at 0.15 m/s, while the maximum damage index increased from 0.63 to 0.71, indicating enhanced structural degradation at higher flow velocities. Additionally, the crack initiation time decreased from 192 μs at 0.05 m/s to 82 μs at 0.15 m/s. The obtained pressure-wave propagation patterns and damage evolution characteristics provide valuable insights into the mechanical behavior of materials across multiple scales, supporting advanced material design and structural integrity assessment. The suggested framework showed a capability to realistically forecast the occurrence of pressure surges and structural deformations, and the given tool can be utilized in the design of pipelines, maintenance, and safety evaluation thoroughly.