Flow-Induced Vibration (FIV) Analysis

1 BACKGROUND

Flow-induced vibration, or vortex shedding, is due to high flow velocities

such as in a piping dead leg of a centrifugal compressor system. This study
evaluates vortex shedding and potential vibration across dead leg branches.
The study can also include FIV excitation of small-bore piping and
components in the flow, such as thermowells.

An FIV study is recommended for new projects involving centrifugal

compressors and other high flow gas systems. It can also be part of
Wood's PIPING VIBRATION AND INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT per Energy
Institute, 2008, Guidelines for the avoidance of vibration induced fatigue
failure in process pipework (AVIFF).

Flow-Induced Vibrations, and the physical parameters which control them,

are of significant importance to design engineers and operators. The
potential of these phenomena to cause catastrophic failure to piping
engineering systems and unacceptably high levels of environmental and
occupational noise has motivated significant effort to understand and
mitigate these problems.” Source: preface, FIV 2012 Conference, Ireland.

Figure 1: Example of vortex shedding from an object in the flowstream. Souce: acusim.com

Flow disturbance (or vortex shedding) is caused by flow past:

 Thermowells or other objects insert in the flow stream (Figure 1), or
 A deadleg branch such as a recycle line or relief line (Figure 2)
At specific frequencies, the flow will excite acoustic resonance, producing
high pulsations. These pulsations can excite mechanical resonances,
producing high vibration and fatigue failure on the affected piping.

Flow creates vortices and excitation.

The excitation frequency is determined Where:
from this formula: S = Strouhal number
v = fluid velocity
Vortex Shedding Frequency (VSF) = d = branch diameter
S (v/d)

Figure 2: Example of "Dead Leg Branch

A similar phenomenon happens when you blow air across an open bottle,
producing a tonal response.

For high flow gas systems, such as the dead leg shown in Figure 2, high
pressure pulsations will be generated when the Vortex Shedding
Frequency (VSF) coincides with the Acoustic Natural Frequency (ANF)of
the branch. This interaction will cause small-bore piping to vibrate and
potentially fail. It is interesting to note that the highest flow rate may not
cause the worst vibration.

2 COMMON PROBLEM AREAS

FIV is typically evaluated on centrifugal compressor piping systems. Some

risks may also exist with high flow screw compressors. Refer to this page for
three examples of FIV problems: PIPING VIBRATION EXAMPLES
FIV is also a problem on production risers (offshore), heat exchanger tubes,
and many other industrial applications. The figure below illustrates a FIV
problem that Wood solved on an exhaust tower.

3 FIV DESIGN ANALYSIS

Wood offers the following FIV design services for piping systems, including
centrifugal compressor systems:
  Evaluate the applicable piping location to determine the likelihood of
vortex shedding, pulsation and vibration problems. For dead leg
branches, Wood evaluates FIV based on geometry, flow regime, and
acoustic modes. The methodology described in Energy
Institute’s Guidelines for the avoidance of vibration induced fatigue failure
in process pipework (AVIFF) is used.
 Optional FIV Service: For thermowells and probes, the calculated
vortex shedding frequency is separated from the component’s
mechanical natural frequency (MNF).
 Advanced FIV Evaluation: For complex dead leg branches a more
detailed FIV study can be done. In certain cases, a forced response
of the piping system can be undertaken.

Where there is a risk of fatigue failure, recommendations are provided. For

centrifugal compressor piping systems, the FIV Study and Acoustic-Induced
Vibration Study (AIV Study) are sometimes both required.

4 FIV FIELD TROUBLESHOOTING SERVICE

FIV troubleshooting applications include:

 Small-bore piping failures on centrifugal compressors, including

thermowells and instrumentation
 Piping shell mode vibration problems
 FIV on heat exchanger tubes
 FIV on piping risers

For field troubleshooting, it is necessary to measure the pulsation, vibration

and stress at site, as well as determine the MNF and ANF. In many cases,
the field measurements are used in a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to
determine piping stress.