At the 2018 OWWA Annual Conference in Niagara Falls, Emma presented her paper, Case Study: Modelling Transients using InfoSurge. Her presentation earned her the top spot in the OWWA chapter “Fresh Ideas Competition”. For this achievement, Emma received free registration & travel to the annual AWWA ACE conference in Las Vegas, NV, where she again presented her paper and a poster with the respective winners from all AWWA chapters achieving an overall third place award!!
AWWA Press Release: https://www.awwa.org/AWWA-Articles/awwa-announces-winners-of-fresh-ideas-poster-competition-for-students
“Attending ACE in Las Vegas last June was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful that OWWA and C3W gave me the opportunity. Stepping onto the trade show floor gave me a new appreciation for the shear size and importance of the water industry in North America. Some highlights included watching the Hydrant Hysteria competition, trying to run between the labyrinth of concurrent presentations, and exploring Las Vegas through the various social events.”, Emma Thompson
ABSTRACT: Pressure to Plan: Transient Modelling for Asset Management:
Aging infrastructure is a growing concern in all municipalities, and many are undertaking risk analysis projects to understand the consequence and probability of failure of watermains. Rapid change in pressure is a known contributing factor to the failure of watermains, and is most often caused by pump starts/stops, opening/closing of valves and significant changes in consumption. These changes are referred to as transient conditions, and they can introduce pressure surges that radiate through the distribution system at the speed of sound. Transients have the potential to damage pipelines, reduce system efficiency and introduce contamination if main breaks occur.
The cause and effect of transient conditions are well known; however, the prediction and modelling of transients is an emerging field of work for many municipalities and consulting engineers. In this case study, an existing hydraulic model was updated to include transient elements within the water distribution system. InfoSurge was used for modelling the effect of transient operations in the network to identify existing areas of concern and to modify operational controls. The techniques used for data collection, model calibration and system optimization are summarized, as well as lessons learned for future undertaking of this type of analysis.
Stay tuned for schedule of C3 Water papers at the 2019 OWWA Annual Conference.