ANALYSIS AND STABILITY OF CLOSED SURGE TANKS

By M. Hanif Chaudhry, 1 M. ASCE, Mostafa A. Sabbah, 2

and John E. Fowler 3
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ABSTRACT: The stability of closed surge tanks (tanks with compressed air at
the top) is investigated using the phase plane method, which allows inclusion
of nonlinear effects in the analyses. All singularities are analyzed and stability
criteria are developed. Phase portraits are plotted using the method of isoclines.
Six numerical techniques for integrating the governing equations are compared.
The effect of the value of the polytropic gas constant on the surge amplitudes
is investigated. Several important conclusions are: (1) For the stability of large
oscillations, it is neither necessary to provide more tank area than critical area,
as is presently done, nor to satisfy the second stability condition presented
earlier by the writers; (2) the damping rate of oscillations is higher if the limit
on the maximum gate opening is included in the analysis; (3) presently used
first-order methods for numerically integrating the governing equations may
yield incorrect and sometimes unstable results; (4) the second-order modified
Euler method yields results comparable to higher-order methods, and is rec-
ommended for practical applications; and (5) the polytropic gas law exponent,
n, equal to unity (isothermal behavior) produces a larger amplitude of water
surface oscillation than n = 1.4 (adiabatic).

INTRODUCTION

By rehabilitation, the generating capacity of m a n y existing hydroelec-

tric power plants can be economically increased. Although this requires
installation of n e w turbines, generators and control equipment, the ex-
isting water-conveying conduits, such as tunnels, penstocks, etc., are
usually in good condition and can be utilized with m i n i m u m modifica-
tion, provided suitable surge-control devices are included to keep the
maximum and minimum pressures within the design limits of these con-
duits. Similarly, by providing either totally n e w surge-control devices or
by modifying the existing surge-control devices, the flexibility of oper-
ation of m a n y h y d r o p o w e r plants can be increased b y removing or im-
proving the operating restrictions previously imposed to keep the max-
imum and minimum pressures or the speed rise following load rejection,
or both, within specified limits. These considerations require the selec-
tion and provision of appropriate surge-control devices.
A surge tank, usually open to the atmosphere (hereinafter called the
ordinary surge tank), is the most commonly used surge-control device
in hydroelectric power plants. These tanks can be provided only at sites
having suitable topographic features. However, it is possible to have the
top of the tank closed instead of o p e n to the atmosphere, a n d to provide
compressed air above the water surface in the tank. Such a tank is called
a closed surge tank, a surge chamber with air cushion, etc. (Fig. 1).
1
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Environmental Engrg., Washington State Univ.,
Pullman, Wash. 99164.
2
Dir., Dept. of Engrg., City of Newport News, Newport News, Va.
3
Engr., Dept. of Public Works, City of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Va.
Note. Discussion open until December 1, 1985. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals.
The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication
on May 1, 1984. This paper is part of the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol.
I l l , No. 7, July, 1985. ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/85/0007-1079/$01.00. Paper No.
19851.
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 Reservoir
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water
Penstock

FIG. 1.Schematic of Hydroelectric Power Plant with Closed Surge Tank

A closed surge tank has the following advantages for application in

hydroelectric installations: (1) It costs much less than an ordinary surge
tank, e.g., the saving of several million kroners at Driva Power Plant;
(2) it can be located near the turbine, thus improving the surge-control
and load-response characteristics of the system; (3) unlike an ordinary
surge tank, it can be provided in almost any topographic situation, thus
making it especially attractive for rehabilitation and renovation of old
plants; (4) it allows a steeper tunnel slope, which reduces construction
costs and provides favorable geological conditions, and (5) in cold cli-
mates, it can be protected from freezing more easily than other types of
tanks. The main disadvantage of a closed surge tank is that a compressor
must be provided, which incurs maintenance costs in addition to initial
costs.
Closed surge tanks have been used as surge-control devices (1,7,28)
in pumping plants for over 50 yr, and are referred to as air chambers,
air vessels, air bottles, etc. They have been used as an anti-resonance
device in oil pipelines (24) and in hydroelectric power plants (13). They
were used as a surge-control device about 60-70 yr ago in small hydro-
power plants in the U.S., but their use was discontinued because of
problems with governing stability (29). These problems were most prob-
ably due to the hydraulic governor, not the closed surge tank. However,
credit is due the Norwegian engineers who used these tanks at several
large power plants, eight of which are operating satisfactorily. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers considered in its design a closed surge tank
for the planned Snettisham project (9).
In this paper, literature available on the analysis and stability of closed
surge tanks is first reviewed. Equations describing the water-level os-
cillations in these tanks are presented and normalized to reduce the
number of parameters. The phase-plane method is then used to inves-
tigate the stability of these oscillations; the use of several higher-order
numerical methods for their analysis are compared.

ANALYTIC PROCEDURES

Depending upon the piping system having a closed surge tank, two
types of pressure oscillations may be produced in the system following
a planned or incidental disturbance (7,11,37): (1) Short-period oscilla-
tions commonly referred to as water hammer; and (2) long-period oscil-
lations commonly referred to as surges.
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 Usually only short-period oscillations are of interest in a p u m p i n g in-
stallation. Because of short periods, it is necessary to include the com-
pressibility effects in the analysis of these oscillations. Therefore, a dis-
tributed-system approach (7) that involves solving a system of nonlinear
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hyperbolic partial differential equations describing the system behavior

must be used. A closed-form solution of these equations is not available
because of the presence of nonlinear terms. The method of character-
istics (7,27,37) and the implicit finite-difference m e t h o d (30) have been
used successfully to solve these equations. These procedures are well-
developed and have been proven by comparing the computed results
with the laboratory or field test results. The main controversy so far has
concerned the modeling of the expansion and contraction of air in the
chamber during transient-state conditions. For this p u r p o s e , the poly-
tropic equation for a perfect gas (?" = constant, in which p = absolute
air pressure and = volume of air) has been extensively used. The
value of n varies from n = 1 (isothermal behavior) to n = 1.4 (adiabatic
behavior). As a compromise, a value of n = 1.2 has been r e c o m m e n d e d
and found to yield good comparisons with the field results. Graze (16,17)
has severely criticized the use of the polytropic gas equation, stating that
its use is theoretically incorrect and that n = 1.2 does not necessarily
give conservative results, as has been the popular belief. Instead, h e
recommends using a procedure he calls "rational heat transfer m e t h o d , "
in which the effects of heat transfer between the air enclosed in the tank
and its surroundings are taken into consideration.
With the exception of pertinent b o u n d a r y conditions, there is little dif-
ference between the analysis of water h a m m e r in a hydroelectric instal-
lation and in a p u m p i n g plant. Therefore, the proven water h a m m e r
analysis procedures for p u m p i n g plants can be utilized for the analysis
of hydroelectric power plants having closed surge tanks.
A governor is provided in a hydroelectric p o w e r plant to o p e n or close
the wicket gates of a turbine to keep the turbine speed a n d thus the
electrical frequency constant (7). For example, following a load increase,
the governor opens the gates, which lowers the water level in the surge
tank and reduces the available net head on the turbine. Thus, turbine
gates must be opened still further to keep the turbine speed constant.
Due to this control feedback, it is possible to have unstable water level
oscillations in the tank, which may produce unacceptable frequency os-
cillations if the power plant is isolated from the grid system. Therefore,
unlike p u m p i n g installations in which there is n o such control feedback
and no danger of unstable oscillations (except in situations w h e r e the
p u m p has abnormal characteristics), the analysis of both water h a m m e r
and surges is required to design a hydroelectric p o w e r plant.
For the analysis of surges, two features are studied: (1) The maximum
and minimum surge levels in the tank; a n d (2) whether the oscillations
are stable or unstable. Although numerical methods for water h a m m e r
analysis, such as the method of characteristics, have been s h o w n to be
viable (27) for analyzing surges as well, it has b e e n found that the com-
puter time required by the former may be more than 100 times (11) that
required by the latter, without any noticeable improvement in the ac-
curacy of the results. Therefore, these methods have not gained p o p u -
larity for the analysis of surges.

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 The compressibility effects in the analysis of surges can usually be
neglected, thereby allowing the use of a lumped-system approach (7).
This requires the solution of a-set of nonlinear ordinary differential equa-
tions. By using such an approach, ordinary surge tanks have been stud-
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ied for several decades, and analysis procedures (4,7,11) are available
for determining the maximum and minimum surge levels. Similarly, the
stability criteria for a simple tank have been developed (6,7,23,25,26,33),
in which effects of the nonlinear terms are included. However, because
of their recent introduction, limited investigations have been carried out
(8,12,32,35) for the analysis and stability of closed surge tanks.
The stability criterion presented in Ref. 35 is developed by linearizing
the governing equations. This criterion is therefore valid only for small
oscillations, and the tank volume determined by using this criterion is
arbitrarily increased to allow for uncertainties introduced by nonlinear-
ities.

GOVERNING EQUATIONS

The following assumptions (8,32) are made in the derivation of the

governing equations: (1) The tunnel has a uniform cross section; (2) the
inertia of the water in the chamber is negligible; (3) the enclosed air
expands and contracts according to the polytropic gas equation; (4) water
and the conduit walls are rigid (i.e., the pressure waves propagate at
infinite velocity); (5) the transient-state head losses may be computed
using steady-state formula; (6) the losses in the orifice, if present, at the
bottom of the surge tank are small; and (7) the horizontal area, As, of
the surge tank does not vary with elevation.
If the tunnel has a variable cross section, then it may be replaced by
an equivalent tunnel having a uniform cross section. The polytropic gas
equation yields (8,9) results very close to those if the heat transfer effects
were included in the analysis. Since oscillations in these systems are
slow, the assumptions of rigid water and conduit walls are valid as well.
An orifice at the bottom of the tank is not provided in many power
plants. However, if an orifice producing significant losses is present,
then the minimum tank size determined from the following stability
analyses will be larger than that if the orifice losses had been taken into
consideration. A term representing these losses may be included in the
dynamic equation while computing the water-level oscillations in the tank.
Except in very small installations, closed surge tanks are cylindrical in
shape and vertically placed. Therefore, As is not a function of elevation.
By using the foregoing assumptions, the following equations may be
written for the oscillations of the water level in a closed surge tank:
L dQ
Dynamic Equation: = z - k Q \Q\ - v (1)
gA, dt
dz 1
Continuity Equation: = ( Q ^ - Q) (2)
at As
in which Q = flow in the tunnel; z = tank water surface level below the
upstream reservoir, measured positive downwards; L = tunnel length;
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1985.111:1079-1096.

 At = tunnel cross-sectional area; As = horizontal area of the surge tank;
p = gage pressure of the enclosed air; k = coefficient of tunnel head
losses; and Qmr = turbine flow.
For the enclosed air
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(P + Pa) V = (P + P)^". (3)

in which P = atmospheric pressure; ^ = volume of the enclosed air; n
= exponent in the polytropic gas equation (n = 1.4 for adiabatic and n
- 1 for isothermal behavior) and the subscript "o" denotes initial steady-
state values.

Normalization of Governing Equations

If the system is frictionless, i.e., k = 0, air pressure is equal to at-
mospheric pressure, i.e., p = 0, initial flow, Q0, is instantaneously re-
duced to zero, and Q is eliminated from Eqs. 1 and 2, then the resulting
equation represents undamped oscillations. By solving this equation and
applying the following initial conditions (7), z = 0 at t = 0 and dz/dt =
-Q0/As at t = 0, one obtains

ILAS
T 2 (4
- * ^

z (5)
-*^to
Let y = z/Z; x = Q/Q0; q = Qtat/Q0; and T = 2-nt/T. Since ^ = ^ 0 -
As(z0 - z), it follows from Eq. 3 that p = p[l + nAs(za - z ) / - ^ ] . This
approximation is valid Up p and if As(z0 - z) < < --0; both of these
conditions are true in large installations. Substitution of these relation-
ships and Eqs. 4 and 5 into Eqs. 1 and 2 yields
dx ,
= -<*! + (i + a2) y - 3* (6)
dT

dy
and = -x + q (7)
(IT
in which ax = p0{l + (nz0As/-^0)}/Z; a2 = np0A,/V-; and a3 = fyo/Z.

STABILITY

Limited investigations have been carried out for the stability of closed
surge tanks, because of their recent introduction, as compared to simple
tanks. By assuming small perturbations and assuming an ideal governor
that maintains constant power (i.e., the wicket-gate opening may be-
come infinite, if necessary), Svee (35) developed the following equation
for the critical area, Acr, for the stability of the tank:

A a = Atoll + '^J (8)

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 QlL
in which Alh = (9)
2gAthfa(Hg - hf0)
and a = distance between the roof of the tank and the initial steady-
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state tank water level. Since this expression is developed using a li-
nearized analysis and is valid only for small oscillations, critical tank size
determined from this equation is arbitrarily increased by 50-100% by
design engineers to allow for the stability of large oscillations. This sig-
nificantly increases the project costs, since these tanks are very large
(e.g., the closed surge tank of Driva Power Plant, Norway, has an area
of 780 m2) and large-capacity air compressors must be provided. By us-
ing the phase-plane method, the writers studied (8,32) the stability of
closed tanks for the cases of constant discharge, constant gate opening,
and constant power. It was found that the oscillations are always stable
for the first two cases, which normally do not occur in actual projects.
For the idealized case of constant power, however, the following two
conditions have to be satisfied for large oscillations:
A, > Ac (10)

ny0At
and hUl - -3 IS + 4Z'(Hg - hf0)\ 1 + <0 (11)

In other words, oscillations may be unstable even if the tank area is

greater than the critical area determined from the expression developed
by Svee, if the second condition is not satisfied. This inequality provided
a rational procedure for increasing the tank size to allow for large os-
cillations.
Replacing a0 = -V-0Aa in Eq. 8, and solving for ACI, one obtains

ACI = (12)
_]__no
An, -V-0

. r- Constant Power
i

I
\ /
I
> q* o i
A \
\ /
x\
/'

/ \
H/Z / s ^ O
' S * * a
w %
e

I!
^

]_
^ Constant Gate
Opening

FIG. 2.Turbine Flow Characteristics

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 It is clear from this equation that, for an open surge tank, when pa = 0,
A:r = Aih In addition, this equation shows that there is a limit to the
range of air pressure and air volume that may be selected for any par-
ticular surge-tank installation, i.e., -- > np0Ath would yield a negative
value for ACT.
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All investigations for the stability of closed tanks conducted so far as-
sume that there is an "ideal" governor, which can maintain constant
power regardless of the water level in the tank. As shown in Fig. 2, the
wicket gates can be opened to an infinite value, if. necessary, as the water
level in the tank falls. However, in actuality, wicket gates can be opened
only to the fully opened position, or to the maximum value if the gate
travel is blocked at a position less than full. In other words, turbine flow
is governed by a condition of constant gate opening when the net head
is less than the rated head. The stability of water-level oscillations for
this real-life operation is investigated in this paper.

PHASE-PLANE METHOD

In this method, the stability of oscillations in the neighborhood of all

equilibrium or steady-state points can be analytically studied and the
stability criteria determined. Therefore, the method is suitable for non-
linear systems. In addition, the phase portraits (a graphical display of
the relationship between tunnel discharge and water level in the tank)
show, at a glance, whether the oscillations are stable or unstable.
To conserve space, a brief description of the method and necessary
equations are presented herein; for details of the method, see Ref. 10.
The system will be in equilibrium or steady state when dx/dn and dy/di
are simultaneously equal to zero. This equilibrium state will occur at
those points (xs, ys) called singular points or singularities, for which, si-
multaneously
-at + (1 + a2) y - a3x2 = 0 (13)
and -x + q = 0 (14)
Coordinates of the singular points (xs, ys) are obtained by simultaneously
solving Eqs. 13 and 14. Linear systems have only one singular point,
while nonlinear systems may have more than one. Whether a singular
point is stable or unstable may be investigated by studying its behavior
in the neighborhood of the singularity as follows: Let x = xs + u, and y
= ys + v, in which u and v are small quantities. By substituting these
into Eqs. 6 and 7, expanding the resulting equations, noting that at the
singular point dx/dj and dy/dr are zero, and neglecting higher-order terms
in u and v, one obtains
dv c'u + d'v
= (15)
du a'u + b'v
in which a', V, c' and d' = real constants. Eq. 15 is equivalent to the
following two equations:
du
= a'u + b'v (16)

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 dv
= c'u + d'v (17)
AT
1
with the characteristic roots \ i , k2 = - [(a' + d1)
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V(fl' + d'f + 4:(b'c' - a'd')] (18)

The roots X.] and k2 define the singular point as follows: As a node if
both roots are real and have the same sign; saddle if both roots are real
and have the opposite sign; vortex if both roots are imaginary; and focus
if the roots are complex conjugates. A singularity is stable if the real part
of the roots is negative; it is unstable if the real part is positive.

PHASE-PLANE ANALYSIS

Since the wicket gates cannot be opened more than this fully opened
position, power cannot be maintained at constant rate once the water
level in the tank is such that the net head is less than the rated head.
As shown in Fig. 2, this will occur for y < y0. In other words, the
phase plane (i.e., x-y plane) is divided into two regions:

1. Region 1 (y > y0), in which the governor can maintain constant

power.
2. Region 2 (y < -y0), in which the power cannot be maintained at a
constant rate and the gates are at their maximum position.

To determine the coordinates and the type of singular points from

Eqs. 6 and 7, we need the expressions for the normalized turbine flow,
q. These expressions for each region are as follows:
For region 1, assuming that a governor regulates the turbine flow so
that the turbine output remains constant, the penstock head losses and
the velocity head are small, and the turbine efficiency remains constant,
an expression for the normalized turbine flow, q, may be written as
Qtur flj a
q = = (19)
Q fli + o4 - (1 + a2) y
in which a4 = Hg/Z.
For region 2, the turbine characteristics presented in Ref. 22 show that
the flow through a Francis turbine operating at full gate and at constant
speed is approximately proportional to the net head. Thus, neglecting
the penstock losses and the velocity head, an expression for the nor-
malized turbine flow may be written as
Q^ = Hg-Z + P
K
* Qo Hg-hf0
Dividing the numerator and denominator by Z and simplifying
fli + 4 (1 + a2) v
q= ^ (21)
Hi ~ a3
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 TABLE 1.Data for Singular Points
Singu- Stable or Required Miscella-
Region larity Coordinates Type unstable condition neous
(D (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
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1. Constant First Node or Stable A, > A n

1 + 112
power focus Unstable A, < At

Saddle 2o3 > (A, - A3) Possible

only for
very high
friction
1/ / 4l
Second Node or Stable Left-hand Real
focus side of
Eq. 11 < 0

_*+H-i+v~3+?) (i+ 2 >

Left-hand
side of
Eq. 11 > 0
44
-3 +

["V 3 - 1 -
3'

(1 + 02)

01 + 3
2. Constant First Node or Always
gate ' 1 + 02 focus stable
opening Hi (Jlfl3 + (14
(y < y.) Second

By substituting the expressions for the normalized turbine flow, q, into

Eqs. 6 and 7, and following the procedure outlined in the previous sec-
tion, coordinates of five singular points are determined. Three of these
singular points belong to region 1 (constant power) and two of them to
region 2 (constant gate opening). Pertinent data for these singular points
are listed in Table 1.
The singular point having the coordinates 1, (ax + a3)/(l + a2) is com-
mon to both regions and is called a compound singularity. The second
singular point in region 2 and the third singular point in region 1 are
virtual, since Eqs. 6 and 7 are not valid for x < 0. Usually the effect of
these virtual singular points on the water-level oscillations in the normal
operating range is rather small, since they are located at a far distance
from the first singularity. Similarly, the second singular point in region
1 is virtual, except in situations where friction losses are very large (i.e.,
more than one-third of the gross head). Since such a case of high head
losses is of academic interest only, it is not considered further herein.
Thus, for practical purposes, the stability of the system depends upon
whether the compound singularity is stable or unstable. This is covered
in detail in the following paragraphs.
For region 2, the compound singularity is always stable. In region 1,
however, it is stable if the inequality of Eq. 10 is satisfied and unstable
if this inequality is not satisfied, i.e., oscillations are damped if the tank
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 y -.
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Region 1
stable

Region 2
stable

(a) (b) (c)

FIG. 3.Stability of Oscillations for Different Tank Areas: {a) As > Ac,; (b) As
A,; (c) A, < A

area is greater than the critical area and unstable if the tank area is less
than the critical area. The overall stability and the rate of damping will
depend upon the combined stabilizing effect of region 2 and stabilizing
or unstabilizing effect of region 1.
If As > Aa, oscillations are stable whether they are large or small, since
both regions 1 and 2 are stable. Thus, there is no need to increase this
area, as is presently done, to account for uncertainties introduced by
large oscillations. For A6 < Act, small oscillations will grow until the un-
stabilizing action of region 1 is counterbalanced by the stabilizing action
of region 2 .(Fig. 3) and perpetual oscillations are obtained. In phase-
plane terminology, this is referred to as the limit cycle. Large oscillations
emanating from outside the limit cycle will be damped to the amplitude
of limit cycle, since the stabilizing action of region 2 is more than the
unstabilizing action of region 1. However, small oscillations emanating
inside the limit cycle increase until the unstabilizing effect of region 1 is
equal to the stabilizing effect of region 2. Since the period of water-level
fluctuations in the tank is usually large, the possibility of resonance with
other hydraulic components is rather small. Thus, the tank area less than
the critical area may be provided, especially in those power plants un-
likely to be totally separated from the system.
Sometimes the tank area is increased if the rate of damping of the
oscillation is small. From the foregoing explanation it is clear that the
rate of damping will be higher if the limit on the gate opening is con-
sidered in the analyses, instead of assuming an idealized case of con-
stant power (as many design engineers presently do). This is due to the
fact that there is an inherent stabilizing effect in the case of constant
gate opening, which is not included if an idealized governor is assumed,
which keeps the power constant.

PHASE PORTRAITS

Phase portraits may be plotted by the method of isoclines (10). Let m

= the slope of the solution trajectories for an isocline. Then, it follows
from Eqs. 6 and 7, that
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FIG. 4.Phase Portrait for Constant Power: (a) hf0/Z = 2.1, hf0/Hs = 0.05; (ft) hf0/
Z = 9.6, hf0/Hs = 0.24

FIG. 5.Phase Portrait for Constant Power Subject to Maximum Gate Opening:
(a) h,0/Z = 2.1, hf0/Hs = 0.05; (b) h,JZ = 9.6, / i / 0 / H * = - 2 4

oV -x + a
= ' =m (22)
dx i + (1"+ a2) y ~ fl3^2
This is the equation of the isocline. By substituting the expression for q,
isoclines are plotted for different values of m. Once this has been d o n e ,
the solution trajectories for any initial condition can be d r a w n .
Typical phase portraits plotted using the foregoing m e t h o d are s h o w n
in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 shows a case of constant power, while Fig. 5
shows a case of constant p o w e r subject to a limit on the m a x i m u m gate
opening. System parameters for these figures were selected to s h o w dif-
ferent types of singularities.
A comparison of Figs. 4 a n d 5 s h o w s that the oscillations are d a m p e d
at a higher rate in Fig. 5(a) t h a n are those in Fig. 4(a). This is caused by
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 additional inherent damping introduced by the maximum gate opening,
not allowed for when it is assumed that there is no upper limit on the
gate opening.
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NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF GOVERNING EQUATIONS

Eqs. 1 and 2 are a set of ordinary differential equations describing the

variation of q and z (and other related variables) with time. Because of
the presence of the nonlinear terms, a closed-form solution is not avail-
able. Therefore, numerical methods are used to integrate these equa-
tions subject to the prescribed initial conditions.
Several methods have been reported in the literature for the numerical
integration of ordinary differential equations. The following six methods
were used (8,12) in this study:

1. Single-Step Methods
a. Euler method (14,34)
b. Modified Euler method (14,34)
c. Fourth-order Runge-Kutta method (14,34)
d. Fifth- and sixth-order Runge-Kutta method (18,19,34,36)
2. Multi-Step Methods
a. Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method (14,18,19)
3. Extrapolation Methods
a. Bulirsch-Stoer extrapolation method (14,18,19,36)

To conserve space, details of the numerical methods are not included

herein; interested readers should refer to the quoted references. Com-
puter programs using Euler and modified Euler were developed. For the
fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, a subroutine, RK, developed by A.
G. Fowler of the University of British Coumbia, Vancouver, was used.
For the remaining three methods, standard programs (18,19) DVERK (fifth-
and sixth-order Runge-Kutta method), DREBS (Bulirsch-Stoer extrapo-
lation method) and DGEAR (Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method), de-
veloped by International Mathematical and Statistical Libraries, Inc.
(IMSL), were utilized. However, drivers and additional subroutines to
use these programs were written. A relative error control of 0.001 was
specified for IMSL routines; no error control was used for the other
methods.
To compare the foregoing methods, water level oscillations in the closed
surge tank of Driva Power Plant, Norway, following instantaneous re-
duction of flow from 30 m 3 /s to 0, were computed. The data for the
plant (11,31,35) are as follows: L = 18,805 m; At = 20.5 m 2 ; k = 0.011;
A, = 780 m 2 ; p0 = 406.4 m; - = 5,000 m 3 ; and z0 = 416.55 m. Com-
putations were done up to t = 1,000 s using a time step of 5 s.
Table 2 shows the value of the maximum and minimum water surface
level z and absolute pressure head obtained by each method with a time
step equal to five seconds (12). In all cases, the maximum pressure oc-
curred at 45 s, and the minimum pressure at 140 s. The results of the
higher-order methods and the Modified Euler method were nearly the
same. The slight differences in the pressures computed using the Mod-
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1985.111:1079-1096.

 TABLE 2.Results of Numerical Methods for Constant Discharge
Maximum Minimum
water water Maximum Minimum CPU
surface surface air pres- air pres- time
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Method levela (ft) level3 (ft) sure (ft) sure (ft) (sec)
(D (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Euler 1,362.12 1,370.78 1,782.98 1,083.32 0.62
Improved Euler 1,362.59 1,369.15 1,723.19 1,172.57 0.65
Runge-Kutta
4th-order 1,362.59 1,369.15 1,723.35 1,172.39 0.72
Runge-Kutta 5th-
and 6th-order 1,362.59 1,369.15 1,723.48 1,172.37 1.94
Bulirsch-Stoer
extrapolation 1,362.59 1,369.15 1,723.48 1,172.37 0.92
Adams-Bashforth
Moulton 1,362.60 1,369.17 1,721.77 1,171.32 0.73
""Measured positive downward from reservoir surface.
Note: All maximum values occurred at time equal to 45 sec; all minimum val-
ues at time equal to 140 sec.

ified Euler method and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, as com-

pared to those computed by the other higher-order m e t h o d s , are prob-
ably due to the fact that n o error control was used in the first two methods.
That is, the results obtained at the end of a time step were not tested
against any tolerance. The slight difference in the results obtained by
IMSL subroutine DGEAR and the results obtained by DVERK and DREBS
is probably due to the necessity of using a single-step "starting" method
until a sufficient n u m b e r of points were obtained to use the Adams-
Bashforth-Moulton equations.
The results of Euler m e t h o d with step sizes ranging from 1 to 5 s are
shown in Table 3. Using the results of the higher-order m e t h o d s as a
basis for comparison, the most accurate results were obtained with a

TABLE 3.Computed Results Using Euler Method

Step Maximum Minimum CPU

size water surface water surface Maximum air Minimum air time
(sec) level (ft)a level (ft)a pressure (ft) pressure (ft) (sec)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
5.0 1,362.12 1,370.78 1,782.98 1,083.32 0.62
4.5 1,362.15 1,370.58 1,776.58 1,093.32 0.69
4.0 1,362.18 1,370,38 1,771.82 1,102.87 0.77
3.5 1,362.25 1,370.22 1,764.57 1,112.35 0.82
3.0 1,362.32 1,370.06 1,757.88 1,121.73 0.93
2.5 1,362.35 1,369,89 1,751.88 1,130.65 1.06
2.0 1,362.41 1,369.73 1,746.44 1,139.44 1.37
1.5 1,362.45 1,369.56 1,740.17 1,147.97 1.77
1.0 1,362.51 1,369.66 1,734.69 1,156.27 2.64
"Measured positive downwards from the reservoir surface.

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 TABLE 4.Effect of n on Surge Limits and Pressure Limits
Maximum Minimum Range
water water of water Maximum Minimum Range of
surface surface surface pressure pressure pressure
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n level3 (ft) level3 (ft) levels (ft) head (ft) head (ft) heads (ft)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
1.0 1,362.23 1,369.31 7.08 1,693.37 1,194.74 498.63
1.2 1,362.59 1,369.15 6.56 1,723.48 1,172.37 511.11
1.4 1,362.88 1,369.02 6.14 1,750.27 1,152.00 598.27
"Water surface level measured positive downward from upstream reservoir level.

step size of 1 s. Indeed, for step sizes over 2.5 s, the water surface and
pressure-head oscillations due to numerical instability grew slowly with
time.
The best numerical method would be the one yielding acceptable ac-
curate results with a minimum amount of CPU time. With the exception
of Euler's method, all the methods gave quite similar results. In fact, the
results obtained from DVERK and DREBS were identical for the maxi-
mum and minimum values of the air pressure and the water surface
level in the tank. The results of the other methods (with the exception
of Euler method) varied only slightly from those obtained from DVERK
and DREBS. Thus, all higher-order methods appear to be equal for the
application to the problem under study, and a user could use any method
he felt most comfortable with, or had access to. In the writers' opinion,
little advantage is gained by using methods higher than those of the
second order.

EFFECT OF n ON SURGE LIMITS

To investigate the effect of the value of n on the water-level oscillations

and on surge pressures (12), IMSL subroutine DVERK was used to solve
the case of total load rejection for the Driva power plant. The results for
n = 1, 1.2 and 1.4 are shown in Table 4. A value of n = 1 produced the
highest and lowest water level values (i.e., largest amplitude of water
surface level oscillations) and the smallest amplitude of pressure oscil-
lations (here amplitude refers to the difference between the consecutive
minimum and maximum values). The opposite results were produced
with n = 1.4. With n equal to 1.2, the results were intermediate between
the two extremes, as could be expected.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

1. The stability of oscillations is investigated by the phase-plane method.

The following conclusions can be drawn from these analyses:
a. If it is assumed that power can be maintained at a constant
rate (i.e., there is no upper limit on the maximum opening of
the wicket gates), then two conditions given by Eqs. 10 and 11
must be satisfied for the large oscillations to be stable. Eq. 10
is the same as that developed by a linear analysis valid for small
oscillations.
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J. Hydraul. Eng. 1985.111:1079-1096.

 b. For the actual situation of constant power subject to an u p p e r
limit on the maximum gate opening, both small and large os-
cillations are stable if As > Aa . For As < ACI, oscillations may
be stable or unstable (with an u p p e r b o u n d on their amplitude)
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depending u p o n the initial conditions w h e n the disturbance

starts. These oscillations will become perpetual w i t h an am-
plitude which d e p e n d s u p o n the stabilizing effect of the max-
i m u m gate opening and unstabilizing effect of constant power.
c. The damping rate of oscillations is higher for the real case of
constant power subject to maximum gate opening, as com-
pared to idealized case of constant power presently used, which
assumes no u p p e r limit on the wicket gate opening.
d. There is no need to provide more tank area than critical area,
as is presently done, to allow for the stability of large oscilla-
tions.
2. The first-order Euler method for the analysis of water level oscil-
lations may yield incorrect and sometimes unstable results.
3. The second-order modified Euler m e t h o d yields results comparable
to those obtained by other higher-order m e t h o d s , and is recommended
for practical applications.
4. The value of one for the polytropic gas law exponent, n, yields the
largest amplitude of Water surface oscillations a n d the smallest ampli-
tude of pressure oscillations. Just the opposite effect occurs with n = 1.4.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The studies reported herein were supported by the National Science

Foundation under Grant No. CEE-8119614 and CEE-8318130.

APPENDIX I.REFERENCES

1. Allievi, L., "Air Chamber for Discharge Lines," Transactions of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 59, Nov., 1937, pp. 651-659.
2. Aiming, K,, "Damping of Pressure Pulsations From a Turbine by an Energy
Absorber in the Pipeline," Proceedings, Symposium of Vibrations in Hydraulic
Pumps and Turbines, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (London), Sept., 1966,
pp. 125-133.
3. Brekke, H., "Induced Hydraulic Resonance Analysis on a Francis Turbine
Power Plant With an Air Cushioned High-Pressure Tunnel System," Pro-
ceedings, International Assoc, for Hydraulic Research Symposium, 1974.
4. Bullough, J. B. B., and Robbie, J. F., "The Accuracy of Certain Numerical
Procedures when Applied to the Solution of Ordinary Differential Equations
of the Type Used in the Digital Computer Prediction of Mass Oscillation in
Closed Conduits," Proceedings of the First Conference on Pressure Surges, pub-
lished by British Hydromech. Research Association, Bedford, England, 1972,
pp. A6-53 to A6-75.
5. Bulirsch, R., and Stoer, J., "Numerical Treatment of Ordinary Differential
Equations by Extrapolation Methods," Numerische Mathematik, Vol. 8, 1966,
pp. 1-13.
6. Chaudhry, M. H., and Ruus, E., "Surge Tank Stability by Phase Plane
Method," Journal of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE, Apr., 1974, pp. 489-503.
7. Chaudhry, M. H., Applied Hydraulic Transients, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.,
New York, N.Y., 1979.
8. Chaudhry, M. H., Sabbah, M. A., and Fowler, J. E., "Analysis and Stability

1093

J. Hydraul. Eng. 1985.111:1079-1096.

 of Closed Surge Tanks," Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on
Pressure Surges, British Hydromech. Research Association, Sept., 1983, pp.
133-146.
9. Chaudhry, M. H., "Review of Hydraulic Transient Studies, Snettisham Proj-
ect," prepared for the Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, Anchorage, Alaska,
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May, 1983.
10. Cunningham, W. J., Introduction to Nonlinear Analysis, McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
Inc., New York, N.Y., 1958.
11. Forrest, J. A., and Robbie, J. F., "Mass Oscillation PredictionA Compar-
ative Study of Mass Surge and Waterhammer Methods," Proceedings of the
Third International Conference on Pressure Surges, published by the British Hy-
dromech. Research Association, Mar., 1980, pp. 333-360.
12. Fowler, J. E., "Analysis and Stability of Closed Surge Tanks," thesis pre-
sented to Old Dominion University, at Norfolk, Va., in 1983, in partial ful-
fillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
13. Gardner, P. E. J., and Gummer, J. H., "The Use of Air Chambers to Suppress
Hydraulic Resonance," Water Power, Mar., 1973, pp. 102-105, Apr., 1973, pp.
135-139.
14. Gear, C. W., Numerical Initial Value Problems in Ordinary Differential Equations,
Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1971.
15. Gragg, W. B., "On Extrapolation Algorithms for Ordinary Initial-Value Prob-
lems," Journal Siam Numerical Analysis, Series B, 1965, pp. 384-403.
16. Graze, H. R., "A Rational Thermodynamic Equation for Air Chamber De-
sign," Third Australasian Conference on Hydraulic Fluid Mechanics, Sydney, Aus-
tralia, Nov. 25-29, 1968, pp. 57-61.
17. Graze, H. R., Forrest, J. A., et al., "Analysis of Field Measurement of Air
Chamber Installations," Proceedings of the Second International Conference on
Pressure Surges, British Hydromech., Research Association, Sept., 1976, pp.
K2-19 to K2-36.
18. Hindmarch, A. C , "GEAR: Ordinary Differential Equation System Solver,"
Report UCID-30001, Revision 3, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Dec, 1974.
19. Hull, T. E., Enright, W. H., and Jackson, K. R., "User's Guide for DVERK-
A Subroutine for Solving Non-Stiff ODE's," TR No. 100, Department of Com-
puter Science, University of Toronto, Oct., 1976.
20. Jackson, K. R., Enright, W. H., and Hull, T. E., "A Theoretical Criterion for
Comparing Runge-Jutta Formulas," TR 101, Department of Computer Sci-
ence, University of Toronto, Canada, Jan., 1977.
21. Graze, H. R., "The Importance of Temperature in Air Chamber Operations,"
Proceedings of the First Conference on Pressure Surges, British Hydromech. Re-
search Association, England, 1972.
22. Graze, H. R., discussion of "Status of Fluid Transients in Western Europe
and the United Kingdom. Report on Laboratory Visits by Freeman Scholar,"
by C. S. Martin, Journal of Fluid Engineering, ASME, June, 1973, pp. 312-314.
23. Li, W.-H., Differential Equations of Hydraulic Transients, Dispersion, and Ground-
water Flow, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., pp. 22-36.
24. Lundberg, G. A., "Control of Surges in Liquid Pipelines," Pipeline Engineer,
Mar., 1966, pp. 84-88.
25. Marris, A. W., "Large Water Level Displacements in the Simple Surge Tank,"
Journal of Basic Engineering, ASME, Vol. 81, 1959.
26. Marris, A. W., "The Phase-Plane Topology of the Simple Surge Tank Equa-
tion," Journal of Basic Engineering, ASME, 1961, pp. 700-708.
27. Martin, C. S., "Method of Characteristics Applied to Calculation of Surge
Chamber Oscillations," Proceedings of the First Conference on Pressure Surges,
published by British Hydromech. Research Association, Bedford, England,
1972, pp. El-1 to El-12.
28. Parmakian, J., Waterhammer Analysis, Dover Publications, 1963.
29. Parmakian, J., "Surge Control," Closed-Conduit Flow, M. H. Chaudhry and
V. Yevjevich, eds., Water Resources Publications, Littleton, Colo., 1981, P-
206.
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 30. Perkins, F. E., Tedrow, A. C , Eagleson, P. S., and Ippen, A. T., "Hydro-
Power Plant Transients," Part II, Hydrodynamics Lab Report No. 71, Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, Sept. 1964.
31. Rathe, L., "An innovation in Surge-Chamber Design," Water Power and Dam
Construction, London, England, June-July, 1975, pp. 224-248.
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32. Sabbah, M. A., "Stability Analysis of Closed Surge Tanks by Phase-Plane

Method," dissertation presented to Old Dominion University, at Norfolk,
Va., in 1983, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doc-
tor of Philosophy.
33. Sideriades, L., "Qualitative Topology Methods: Their Application to Surge
Tank Design," LaHouille Blanch, Sept., 1972, pp. 569-80.
34. Stoer, J., and Bulirsch, R., Introduction to Numerical Analysis, Springer Verlag,
Inc., New York, N.Y., 1980.
35. Svee, R., "Surge Chamber with an Enclosed Compressed Air Cushion," Pro-
ceedings of the International Conference on Pressure Surges, British Hydromech
Research Association, Sept., 1972, pp. G2-15 to G2-24.
36. Verner, J. H., "Explicit Runge-Kutta Methods with Estimates of Local Trun-
cation Error," Journal Numerical Analysis, SIAM, Vol. 15, No. 4, Aug., 1968,
pp. 772-787.
37. .Wylie, E. B., and Streeter, V. L., Fluid Transients, FEB Press, Ann Arbor,
Mich., 1983.

APPENDIX II.NOTATION

The following symbols are used in this paper:

As = horizontal area of surge tank, in m2 (sq ft);

A = cross-sectional area of tunnel, in m2 (sq ft);
ax-a$, = constants;
8 = acceleration due to gravity, in m/s 2 (ft/sec2);
=
H* gross head = upstream reservoir level - tailwater level, in
m (ft);
hf = head losses in tunnel, in m (ft);
k = coefficient of tunnel head loss, hf = k Q \Q\;
L = tunnel length, in m (ft);
n = exponent in polytropic gas equation;
P = function in Eqs. 8-12;
P = gage pressure of enclosed air, in m (ft);
Pa = atmospheric pressure, in m (ft);
P* = absolute air pressure, in m (ft);
Q = tunnel flow, in m 3 /s (cu ft/sec);
Q = function in Eqs. 8-12;
Utur = turbine flow in m 3 /s (cu ft/sec);
q = normalized turbine flow;
T = period of oscillations, in s;
t = time, in s;
V = volume of enclosed air, in m 3 (cu ft);
X = normalized discharge;
Xs = x-coordinate of singular point;
y = normalized tank-water surface level;
Vs = y-coordinate of singular point;
= amplitude of oscillations, in m (ft);
zz = water-surface level in tank below upstream reservoir level, in

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 ^i/^2 = characteristics roots.

Subscripts
o = initial steady-state values; and
s = singular point.
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