Analysis of transient hydraulic pressure pulsation in pipelines using MATLAB Simulink

The mathematical model of fluid transients inside hydraulic pipelines is introduced including the unsteady friction item. A new method using SELECTOR block in MATLAB Simulink is developed to handle the integration in spatial domain when solving the partial differential equations. Using this method, the pressure transients inside hydraulic pipelines can be predicted both in time and spatial domains. A straight pipeline with a hydraulic valve on one side and a reservoir on the other side is studied as an example. The pressure pulsations inside the pipeline after the valve is shut off are simulated using the new method. The simulation results are given and compared with the predictions from characteristics method and finite element method published previously. The high frequency oscillation problem created by the numerical analysis is also discussed.