Frequency prediction of flow induced vibration in pipes [abstract]

Abstract

When you blow air across the mouth of a bottle and hear that "bassy" sound, basically what you are doing is exciting a standing wave and inducing a cavity vibration that consequently creates the sound; a flow induced vibration (FIV).The exact same thing happens in power plants pipes, wherever there is a Safety Relief Valve (SRV) down the flow line, vibration will occur. This constant vibration has been identified as one of the leading causes of piping failures. The purpose of this research is to conduct a preliminary analysis to assist the prediction of the frequency at which a steam flow pipe will vibrate or resonate given a constant flow velocity, a fixed cavity or geometry, wall thickness and material. With the information obtained we can conclude that in the specific case of safety relief valves the prediction of flow induced cavity oscillation can be calculated using the following equation: = Uc / λ , Where Uc is the vortex propagation velocity and λ is the vortex wavelength. In a second phase of this research we can conduct tests with different pipe -valve configurations and measure the frequency of oscillation caused by the steam flow. Implement the use of electronic devices within the pipes, create one that can identify the frequency at which the pipe is vibrating and automatically send a pulse to cancel or eliminate the oscillation.