Phenomenological study of the dynamics of pressure distribution in a gas flow in a long-distance pipeline

The paper is devoted to the modeling of unsteady gas flows in long pipelines. A widely used flow model in the form of a system of partial differential equations obtained by the methods of continuum mechanics is considered. The simplifying assumptions under which it is derived are discussed. It is stated that there is no experimental confirmation of the admissibility of these simplifications. Wave processes observed during the operation of the object are examined. The velocity of pressure waves propagation and attenuation was estimated, some physical phenomena, the causes of which are not clear from the available information, were identified. Actual observations are reconciled with the results of model calculations, some discrepancies between them are detected.