An Extension of the Theory of Water Hammer

Abstract The usual theory of water hammer which is used to compute the magnitude and velocity of pressure waves in a pipe filled with an elastic fluid was given by Joukowsky in 1898. This theory predicts that pressure waves travel without change of shape. In the present paper, water-hammer waves are considered without some of the simplifications made in the Joukowsky theory. The equations of motion for a thin cylindrical tube are used. Only the case where the velocity of sound in the material of the pipe wall is greater than in the fluid will be considered. Much of the analysis would be valid in the opposite case, but the relative speeds of the various waves would differ.