Water Displacement in Shafts and Geysering Created by Uncontrolled Air Pocket Releases
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 10
Abstract
Uncontrolled air pocket release from water-filled shafts can lead to geysering in stormwater systems. Such occurrences are deleterious from public health and environmental standpoints and can cause property and structural damage. Causes, frequency, magnitude, and location of geysering events still are poorly understood and pose practical difficulties to designers regarding how to create dropshafts that are less likely to present this issue. This paper presents results from experimental and numerical investigations on air-related geysers that provide insight into the mechanisms of air release and the displacement of water in vertical shafts. A 302-mm schedule 40 clear PVC apparatus is constructed with the essential features of a stormwater tunnel, and is fitted with vertical shafts with diameters ranging from 0.10 to 0.20 m. Predetermined air pocket volumes are released in the horizontal pipe and eventually reach shafts, causing water displacement and often causing geysers. Kinematics of the air pocket release are measured along with pressures at selected points in the apparatus. These results are used in the calibration of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, which compares well with the experimental measurements. The model subsequently is used in a larger geometry that allows the evaluation of air pocket release kinematics for a wider range of conditions. Findings of this work provide further details on the nature and strength of geysering events, and suggestions for future studies in this topic are also provided.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of LimnoTech, Inc. in the development of this research. The authors also acknowledge the support through a grant of high performance computing resources and technical support from the Alabama Supercomputer Authority.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 10 • October 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 28, 2016
Accepted: Apr 24, 2017
Published online: Jul 28, 2017
Published in print: Oct 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Dec 28, 2017
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