The steady-state flow field characteristics have important effects on the stability of the throttled surge tank with the standpipe. This paper analyzes these effects on the basis of the numerical simulation of the flow field by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. It is shown that the anticlockwise recirculation zone is formed in the standpipe, which affects the local head loss at the junction of the standpipe with the pipeline. The variation of the head loss coefficient at the junction is linearly related with the diameter ratio of the standpipe to the pipeline. The dimensionless recirculation flow rate is proportional to the square of the diameter ratio. Considering the effects of the recirculation zone, an empirical expression of the critical stability area is obtained. Comparing with the Thoma critical area, the area obtained by the present method is smaller, and the reduction depends on the diameter ratio and the ratio of the velocity head to the head losses in the tunnel.
