6. Characteristics method

In the case of meshed networks, installations with different pipes, or pipes with complicated boundary conditions, Bergeron's graphical method quickly becomes inextricable.

As an example, let's take the case of the bifurcation shown in figure 34 . To determine the characteristics of the I-shaped flow, we need to send an observer to each end - A, B and C - of these three pipes, knowing the flow and pressure values at their starting dates. These three observers must arrive together at the bifurcation. They will then see that the algebraic sum of the flow rates is zero, and that the pressure at this point is indeed the same. It's easy to imagine how difficult it would be to construct a graph simply to determine the characteristics at point I at time t. This construction would become even more...