Master « Sciences de l’environnement – Mention : Gestion

intégrée des ressources en eau et assainissement des villes

africaines » ref. FED/2011/276626
Activité de formation
cofinancée par
la Commission européenne

Lesson 6 : Hydraulic of water mains

Prof. Vincenzo Bixio

UE : CONSTRUCTIONS HYDRAULIQUES

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 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
A water supply system is a system of water works that allows to collect, process,
transfer, store and distribute water to the user.

This module focuses on the calculation of water mains’ networks. They are the total
amount of conducts and fittings necessary to bring the water from a point of the
supply system to another one; may be:

• from the caption to an intermediate reservoir,

• from a reservoir to the users.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
First of all a designer has to take into account the distribution of the demand:

• geographical position of the users (coordinates X and Y);

• altitude position of the users (coordinate Z).

TIPS: For design improve one can consider:

• to implement a GIS file to manage the users’ location.

 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
Then a designer has to take into account the amount of the demand:

• the amount of water needed by the users, accordingly with the size of the city;
• a daily coefficient (seasonal) for day of higher consumption (i.e. summer)
rd=1.3÷1.5;
• a hourly coefficient for hours of day of higher consumption (i.e. morning and
evening) rh=1.3÷1.5;
• sudden peaks of consumption for touristic places;
• future demand for population growth;
• future demand for change in population behavior.

TIPS: For design improvement one can consider:

• a curve of water demand in the day (i.e. found from an already existent part of water main);
• a curve of growth of population in the city (i.e. found in literature or in urban plans )
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
Future demand for population growth can be calculated by:

• compound interest:

1
where
is the population;
0 is the starting year;
n is the n-th year at which one wants to esteem the population;
r annual rate
• logistic equation
1

where
a and b are constants to be determined by regression on a recorded series of data.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
To supply the water to the users the designer has to gain the head losses: minor and
major losses of energy due to fittings and continuous friction. The fluid in a network
of a water main is always under pressure.

Minor losses can be read in tables or graphics and then used in the energy balance
(as meter of water column) in the form Δ .

Major losses can be computed by Darcy-Weisbach formula:

Δ , where is found by Moody diagram, once known the relative

roughness (roughness in meters given by pipe supplier divided by the internal
diameter in meters) and the Reynolds number.

TIPS:
1) These are pressure motions, not open channel ones. So J represents the slope of the energy line, that is not
the slope of the pipe.
2) For particular cases of head losses, consider: IDEL’CIK I.E., Memento des pertes de charge
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS

Enter from right ordinate. Follow the nearest bold line till to cross the abscissa. Then
go horizontally to read the friction factor in the left ordinate.

TIPS:
1) For better precision one can use Colebrooke-White formula instead of Moody diagram.
2) The motion in water mains is always turbulent and pipes are always hydraulically rough.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
Type of Conduit and Description Minimum Normal Maximum

For simplicity one can use, instead of 1. Brass, smooth: 0.009 0.010 0.013

2. Steel:
Darcy-Weisbach formula: Lockbar and welded 0.010 0.012 0.014

Riveted and spiral 0.013 0.016 0.017

Manning formula: Δ ⁄ ⁄ L 3. Cast Iron:

Coated 0.010 0.013 0.014

Some Manning coefficients are given in Uncoated

4. Wrought Iron:
0.011 0.014 0.016

the table. Black

Galvanized
0.012

0.013
0.014

0.016
0.015

0.017

Always consider pipes rougher than they 5. Corrugated Metal:

Subdrain 0.017 0.019 0.021

are, for taking into account aging of Stormdrain

6. Cement:
0.021 0.024 0.030

conducts. Neat Surface 0.010 0.011 0.013

Mortar 0.011 0.013 0.015

7. Concrete:

Culvert, straight and free of debris 0.010 0.011 0.013

Culvert with bends, connections, and some debris 0.011 0.013 0.014

Finished 0.011 0.012 0.014

Sewer with manholes, inlet, etc., straight 0.013 0.015 0.017

Unfinished, steel form 0.012 0.013 0.014

Unfinished, smooth wood form 0.012 0.014 0.016

Unfinished, rough wood form 0.015 0.017 0.020

8. Wood:

Stave 0.010 0.012 0.014

Laminated, treated 0.015 0.017 0.020

TIPS: 9. Clay:

1) One can use Gauckler-Strickler formula Common drainage tile 0.011 0.013 0.017

substituting in Manning formula. Vitrified sewer

Vitrified sewer with manholes, inlet, etc.
0.011

0.013
0.014

0.015
0.017

0.017

2) Other formulae and abaci can be found in Vitrified Subdrain with open joint 0.014 0.016 0.018

10. Brickwork:
literature. Glazed 0.011 0.013 0.015

3) All these formulae are valid under the Lined with cement mortar 0.012 0.015 0.017

approximation of a steady flow. Sanitary sewers coated with sewage slime with bends and connections 0.012 0.013 0.016

Paved invert, sewer, smooth bottom 0.016 0.019 0.020

Rubble masonry, cemented 0.018 0.025 0.030

 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
Two ways of supplying the water exist:

1) pumping the water directly to the users;

2) pumping the water to a surge tank (elevated reservoir).

The first method is to be avoided, because more complex systems has to be provided
in order to keep always the network under pressure (i.e. pumps with frequency
inverter) and other systems to avoid the breakage of electro-mechanical parts when a
water hammer occurs (wave of pressure caused by sudden variation of the demand).

The second method is preferable because the water is let free to flow when
demanded by the users. It is further analysed in following slides.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
WATER FLOWING FROM A SURGE TANK

You have to solve the following system:

that is:
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
WATER FLOWING FROM A SURGE TANK
---------- PROCEDURE 1/3 ----------

In a city a new neighborhood has been built up. You are asked to re-design the first
branch of a water main (that now is insuffucient): it means that you have to find a
new (bigger) diameter of the pipe that links the surge tank (upstream) to the rest of
the net (downstream).

1) Find the number of inhabitants. For expample: 50000

2) Decide the demand per inhabitant. For expample: 150 l/day/inhab
3) Find the flow-rate.
4) Consider the lenght of the pipe. For expample: 200 m
5) Consider how much energy you can loss in the pipe that you are designing. In
this case it is given by considerations on the existing network. In normal
condition always consider to supply water with a pressure at least 5 meters
above the further/higher house roof. For expample: 1 meter
6) Find the slope of the energy line J: it is the rate of energy (pressure) that you
can loose along the lenght of the pipe. So it is «point 5)» divided by «point 4)».
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
WATER FLOWING FROM A SURGE TANK
---------- PROCEDURE 2/3 ----------

7) Decide the pipe material and find it Manning coefficient. For expample: PVC with
n=0.011 s/m1/3
8) Consider a bit higher Manning coefficient due to aging of conduct. For expample:
n=0.012 s/m1/3
9) By Manning formula, find the pipe diameter, given the already founded flow-
rate and slope of energy line.
10) Choose the right bigger diameter commercially available in your Country,
considering the choosen material.
11) Apply continuity equation to check that velocity is in an allowable range (<3
m/s; target 1 m/s)

What have we done?

We have found, for a given flow-rate, the least diameter that entails the biggest
allowable head loss.

Find the diameter by yourself, before going to next slide.

 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
WATER FLOWING FROM A SURGE TANK
---------- PROCEDURE 3/3 ----------

DN=0.5m that implies that v=1m/s, that is in the correct range.

TIPS:
1) DN stands for nominal diameter.
2) Depending on the degree of precision that you are asked to work, you may also consider that the
result of the calculation was 0.43m and we have chosen the commercial diameter DN=0.5, that
corresponds to an internal diameter Din=0.48m. So depending on downstream conditions (conditions
imposed by the rest of the net) you will have higher flow-rate for the given head loss, or less head
loss for the given flow-rate.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
OTHER POSSIBLE SITUATIONS 1/2

Downstream to the analysed case the pipe may be split into two less pipes and so
on, the resulting network is an open network (open mesh).

How to proceed in this case?

Start from every end (from final users) and go backward, as explained in the
procedure in precedent slides.

TIPS:
1) Proceeding as suggested can be just an approximation for real cases. If you start from two different final
users, for example with a given flow-rate, then you design their two different pipes. Then, when these two
pipes meet (forming a single upstream pipe), the head losses along the two little pipes cannot in general be
the same. So the result is that in the bifurcation point, there would be two different pressures, that is a
physical nonsense. Iterative procedures can be adopted in order to find a possible solution.
2) If you desire strictly a particular flow-rate and head loss condition (that is more frequent in industrial
application), you have to take bigger pipes and insert valve for a precise head loss.
3) For big nets, it is possible to use a software, like the freeware EPANET.
4) The flow-rate is often considered concentrated into the knots, not spread to the beams.
 HYDRAULIC OF WATER MAINS
OTHER POSSIBLE SITUATIONS 2/2

In cities and villages, water mains are often organised in (closed network, closed
mesh). This situation is prefereble because a beams can be isolate in case of
leckeage, without interrupting the service.

How to proceed in this case?

More complex methods have to be used for the calculation, starting from a
hypothesis on the circulation direction of the water, solving all the rings at a time,
and considering the error. This is repeated till to convergence.

TIPS:
1) It is suggested to use a software, like the freeware EPANET.
2) The flow-rate is often considered concentrated into the knots, not spread to the beams.
3) Economical considerations can be carried on in order to optimise costs.

FIGURES FROM:
• DE SOCIO R., Verifica della rete acquedottistica di Case di Malo (VI), tesi di laurea, 2008
• DA DEPPO L., DATEI C., FIOROTTO V., SALANDIN P., Acquedotti, Cortina, Padova, 2006