One of the most common questions asked by engineers who are new to slurry pipeline design is simply: “Which calculation method should I use?”  Before selecting a correlation, the engineer must first determine what they are actually trying to calculate.  For example, depending upon the slurry type and the specific application, the required calculation may … Read more

Good engineering judgement comes before specialised software. One of the most common questions I receive from our piping training course attendees is: When do we need a full pipe stress analysis for a project? The answer is not simple. Some piping systems can be designed confidently using sound engineering principles, pressure rating calculations, support span … Read more

If you want to start a lively discussion among hydraulic engineers, irrigation designers and water network modellers, simply ask:  “Which head loss method should we use?” For more than a century, two methods have dominated water pipeline design: Modern software such as EPANET, WaterGEMS, FluidFlow3, KYPipe and AFT Fathom can solve complex networks in milliseconds, … Read more

Most engineers can quote typical pipe roughness values from memory. For clean water pipelines, a PVC pipe may be assigned a roughness of around 0.0015 mm when new, polyethylene perhaps 0.03 mm after being in use for some time, while cement-lined ductile iron may be assigned a somewhat higher value. These values are then used … Read more

During a recent trip to the Cook Islands, I was fortunate enough to spend several days on Aitutaki. While waiting for a flight at the small airport terminal, I spent some time reviewing a series of historical displays describing the construction of the original airfield (known as Amuri Field) during the Second World War. One … Read more

Recently, I have seen a number of posts suggesting that eccentric reducers are mandatory for all pump suctions. This has never been the case, however this “blanket rule” position appears to be gaining traction without much reference back to first principles. The intent of this article is not to dismiss the use of eccentric reducers, … Read more