×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

(OP)
I recently took partial responsibility of an aging water pipeline that moves water several miles through hilly terrain.  As the water moves up grade through a 36-inch pipe it has air/vacuum vents.  As it crests over the top of the last hill and starts down grade to a lake.  Just after this crest it enters what the older draws refer to as a "seal well" that's basically an open air trough.  The water passes through this trough and enters a 48-inch pipe that gravity flows the rest of the way to the pond.  My question is what is the purpose of this "seal well"?  None of the older information that's available to me includes this information.  It's difficult to secure maintenance money if you don't have a good description of what you're attempting to maintain!

RE: Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

I am just curious as to what is the original source of the water the aqueduct carries, and is the lake just a water reservoir, or does it have any recreational etc. uses?  

RE: Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

(OP)
A river serves as the source and pond that it flow into has no recreational use.

RE: Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

Don't completely understand your system, but would guess that the purpose of the seal well is to protect the pipe from collapse.

If you have the water moving down the hill, you may pull a vacuum on the pipe and collapse the pipe.

Sometimes it is less expensive to use thinner wall pipe than to design the piping for the maximum pressures that will occur.

RE: Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

I would agree with "bimr" seeing as we don't have any further detail. Seems it is to stop any syphon effect and the problems that can be associated.

RE: Purpose of "seal wells" in an aqueduct?

In addition to the above, it "seals" the upstream pipeline, since any dewatering of those segments below trough level is prevented as well as backflow from the exiting reservoir to the upstream pipeline via reverse siphoning is also prevented.

**********************
"Pumping systems account for nearly 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities." - DOE statistic  (Note: Make that 99.99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources