Reducing linearization errors in the frequency domain analysis of fluid transients due to pipeline burst

The frequency domain analysis (FDA) offers greater computational efficiency than the method of characteristic (MOC) in simulating transient flow in pressurized pipes. However, its accuracy is hindered by linearisation errors. Violations of the assumptions for linearisation in friction term and valve equations during water distribution systems (WDSs) burst simulations make the FDA results meaningless. Linearisation procedures are modified as follows using the Heaviside property of pipeline bursts to address this problem: (1) the linearization of the friction term is adjusted, and (2) the valve equation is approximated using a three-step approach. The higher-order term dropped by the original FDA is linearly approximated to achieve better accuracy. The modified FDA is compared to the MOC in a real-life WDS by numerical experiment. Excellent precision can be observed even for a highly nonlinear case where the burst flow is 20% of the initial total demand. The simulation time is significantly shorter than when using the MOC. The proposed modification dramatically improves the applicability of the FDA for solving the nonlinear error issue during the simulation of the pipeline burst. This result implies the potential for its application in quick inverse analysis of pipeline bursts.