Grant: Alliance Grants

Piping systems used in industrial applications such as power stations and natural gas pipelines are liable to generate pressure pulsations. These often arise from the use of reciprocating pumps and/or the dynamic instability of valves, which can act as sources of unwanted noise and vibration. If the frequencies of these pulsating sources correspond to the resonant frequencies of the piping system, a very dangerous acoustic resonance condition can result. This can produce extremely large pressure fluctuations, often several times the dynamic head of the flow in the main pipe, as well as substantial vibrations in the piping system and surrounding components. Almost all of the acoustic damping devices that exist in literature to date have been developed to mitigate pressure pulsations in ducts and piping systems that contain gas flow. However, the flow-acoustic conditions in water flow are significantly different from air flow and thus the applicability and the effectiveness of these damping devices to mitigate pressure pulsations in CANDU fuel bundles is unclear. To bridge the knowledge gap and advance the current state-of-the-art, the main objective of this project is to investigate the generation and attenuation of acoustic pressure pulsations in water filled piping system and develop preliminary design guidelines for the implementation of acoustic dampers in piping systems of nuclear power plants to prevent the occurrence of acoustic pressure pulsations.