Shooting a Water Slug Into an Air Column With and Without Vent

Abstract Compressed air is used to shoot a single water slug into an upward sloping pipe with elbow and orifice at its upper end. The experiment concerns a 12 m long pipe of 0.1 m diameter connected to a 0.5 m3 air vessel. The 10 to 50 kg heavy slugs are initially at rest in the lower part of the system. Because the upper end is closed by a flange with orifice, the water slug is expected not to hit the upstream elbow. It causes – like a piston – a fast compression of the air column ahead of it. Sometimes the slug bounces back and forth, which results in a pressure oscillation of serious amplitude. Numerical simulations based on an elementary mathematical model are normally used to interpret the pressure measurements, not all of which are fully understood. Lessons learned are summarised, and suggestions for improved experiments and enhanced simulations are given. The research is of importance, for example, for steam lines where liquid condensates may collect in lower parts after power failure. Start-up of the system will then lead to rapid slug acceleration and potentially damaging impact on elbows, orifices, and machinery.