Pressure Transients

The development of large transient pressures can occur in pipelines whenever the velocity changes rapidly. Such transient pressures can cause major failure of the pipe and the consequent expense involved in repair can be large. It is probably true to say that the generation of pressure transients is the largest single hydraulic cause of pipeline failure. It is strange, therefore, to find that a large percentage of users are not aware of the danger to their pipelines caused by rapid velocity fluctuations, nor do they seem particularly interested in studying the considerable volume of literature that now exists on this subject.