Water Hammer in PVC and Reinforced Plastic Pipe

An experimental program of measuring water-hammer wave velocities and pressure increments was undertaken to determine how well classical water-hammer theory predicts these quantities in pipe made of polyvinyl chloride and reinforced plastic. The tests were conducted with 4-in. and 6-in. (100-mm and 150-mm) pipes both unburied and buried in a well-compacted fine-grained material. Electronic measurement equipment which was capable of responding to rapidly changing pressure was used to collect the water-hammer data. The experimental data were found to agree reasonably well in most cases with the theoretical calculations. Burying the pipe has a relatively minor effect on the wave velocity and the pressure increments.