FLASH STEAM , WATER

HAMMER AND THERMAL

SHOCK CONCEPTS
By
K.CHANDRAKALADHARA RAO
ASST. DIVISIONAL ENGINEER
STAGE-IV/ Dr NTTPS

Flash steam
Flash steam is a name given
to the steam formed from hot
condensate when the
pressure is reduced.

Flash steam is no different from

normal steam, it is just a
convenient name used to explain
how the steam is formed.
Normal or live steam is
produced at a boiler, steam
generator, or waste heat recovery
generator whereas
Flash steam occurs when high
pressure / high temperature
condensate is exposed to a large

Flash steam occurs whenever water at

high pressure (and a temperature
higher than the saturation
temperature of the low-pressure
liquid) is allowed to drop to a lower
pressure.
Conversely, if the temperature of the
high-pressure water is lower than the
saturation temperature at the lower
pressure, flash steam cannot be
formed.
In the case of condensate passing

Flash steam formed because T1 > T2

Consider a kilogram of condensate at 5

bar g and a saturation temperature of
159C passing through a steam trap to a
lower pressure of 0 bar g. The amount of
energy in one kilogram of condensate at
saturation temperature at 5 bar g is 671
kJ.
In accordance with the first law of
thermodynamics, the amount of energy
contained in the fluid on the low-pressure
side of the steam trap must equal that on
the high-pressure side, and constitutes

Consequently, the heat contained in

one kilogram of low-pressure fluid is
also 671 kJ. However, water at 0 bar
g is only able to contain 419 kJ of
heat,
Subsequently there appears to be an
imbalance of heat on the lowpressure side of 671 - 419 = 252 kJ,
which, in terms of the water, could be
considered as excess heat.

This excess heat boils some of the

condensate into what is known as flash
steam and the boiling process is called
flashing.
Therefore, the one kilogram of
condensate which existed as one
kilogram of liquid water on the high
pressure side of the steam trap now
partly exists as both water and steam
on the low-pressure side.

The amount of flash steam produced at

the final pressure (P2) can be determined
using Equation 2.2.5:

P1
P2
hf
hfg

=
=
=
=

Initial pressure
Final pressure
Liquid enthalpy (kJ/kg)
Enthalpy of evaporation (kJ/kg)

containing 671 kJ/kg of heat energy at its saturation

temperature of 159C. If the pressure was then reduced
down to atmospheric pressure (0 bar g), the water could
only exist at 100C and contain 419 kJ/kg of heat
energy. This difference of 671 - 419 = 252 kJ/kg of heat
energy, would then produce flash steam at atmospheric
pressure.

The proportion of flash steam produced can be

thought of as the ratio of the excess energy to
the enthalpy of evaporation at the final pressure.

WHAT IS WATER
HAMMER?
Water hammer (or hydraulic
shock) is the momentary increase
in pressure inside a pipe caused
by a sudden change of direction
or velocity of the liquid in the
pipe. Water hammer can be
particularly dangerous because
the increase in pressure can be
severe enough to rupture a pipe

CAUSES
Its a simple fact that liquid flowing in a
pipe contains two types of energy: potential
energy and kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is
attributed to its velocity and potential
energy is represented by its pressure.
Neglecting friction, the combination of
kinetic and potential energy remains
constant at all points throughout the length
of the pipe.
Changing the kinetic energy by changing
the liquid velocity forces the pressure in
the pipe to change. If the velocity of the

Water hammer most commonly

occurs when a valve is closed quickly and
suddenly stops the flow of liquid in a
pipeline. When this happens, shock waves
travel back and forth through the piping
system equal to the speed of sound in that
liquid (for water at 70 degrees that is over
4800 ft/sec). These waves travel backward
until encountering the next solid obstacle
(frequently a pump or check valve), then
forward, then back again until pressure is
equalized.

Other causes of water hammer:

Rapid pump startup can induce the rapid
collapse of a void space that exists
downstream.
Rapid pump shutdown can create a quick
change in flow, which causes a pressure
upsurge on the suction side and a pressure
downsurge on the discharge side. Of the
two, the downsurge is usually the major
problem. The pressure on the discharge
side reaches vapor pressure, resulting in
vapor column separation.
Check valve slam (due to sudden

 Movement of air pockets in a pipe. Air is

compressible and if carried along in a
pipeline, can act like a spring, being
compressed at low spots in a line and
expanding at high spots in the line.
Compression and expansion produces
pressure variations which, if great
enough, could produce serious water
hammer pressures.
Water-column separation can also result
in serious water hammer pressure values
when the separated column rejoins at

Thermal shock is a situation where

the water in a boiler is suddenly
displaced by water with substantially
different temperatures.
It causes rapid expansion or
contraction of tubes, boiler plate,
pipes, valves and fittings and is not
good for the boiler or piping system.
The end result will be leaking tubes,
cracked pressure vessels, cracked