Determination of a time step interval in hydraulic systems transients simulation

The determination of the adequate right step in hydraulic transients simula tion is a very important procedure. A too small time step will cause excess ive computation, without any significant improvement, compared to the optim al one. A too great time step can lead to overlooking of certain physical p henomena. However, it is important to determine the minimum and maximum acc eptable time steps. The present paper describes the technique that can be u sed for the determination of time step interval. Special attention is paid to inaccuracies in the computation process, as this problem is often solved purely empirically, though an analytical-empirical solution can be applied . (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.