2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)

Experimental and Simulation Study of flow Induced

Vibration Through Straight Pipes
S. M. Khot, Pallavi Khaire, Abhishek S. Naik*
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology
Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
*Email: naikabhi1992@gmail.com

Abstract — Flow of a fluid through pipe can impose
pressure on the walls of the pipe causing it to deflect under
certain flow conditions. The deflection of the pipe may lead
to structural instability in the pipe system which affects its
efficiency. The present study deals with the effect of
various parameters such as pipe diameter, pipe wall
thickness, and volumetric flow rate (discharge) on the
amplitude of pipe vibration in straight pipe for turbulent
flow. An investigation is carried out by analytical,
experimental and by simulation method to find the effect
of these parameters on pipe vibration. DOE technique is
used to know the effect of each factor i.e. pipe diameter,
thickness and discharge on vibrational amplitude. It is
observed that the amplitude of vibration increases with the
increase in volumetric flow rate and slightly increases with
the increase in diameter.
Keywords — pipe vibrational amplitude, fully developed flow,
MATLAB©, ANSYS©, FFT, harmonic analysis, DOE, pipe
diameter, pipe thickness, flow discharge.
I. INTRODUCTION
Industrial system consists of machines, pipelines and static
equipments which are a kind of bloodstream to a company.
Vibration due to such elements obstructs smooth plant
operation which leads to significant maintenance and repair
cost. Machines and static equipment vibration can be
controlled and managed by maintenance strategies, leaving out
issues related to the operation of pipelines. Also, research
studies indicate that vibration due to pipeline is considered to
be an unavoidable evil and actions are mainly focused on the
installation of additional support. Pipeline vibration mainly
occurs due to fluid flowing through pipe i.e. either due to gas
or liquid. Such a flow related phenomenon is called flow
induced vibration. For every three damages caused by
corrosion or erosion, one damage of a pipeline results from
vibration. It is fairly evident that the fluid force acting on an
obstacle in flow will vary due to the flow unsteadiness and
that the varying force, in turn may cause vibration. However,
even for steady flow conditions, vibration problems may be
caused by vortex shedding behind obstacles. Therefore,
understanding the nature and behavior of flow induced
vibrations is an important aspect in industry [15].
Harold L. Dodds et al. [1] studied effect of high-velocity
fluid flow on the rending vibrations and static divergence of a
simply supported pipe. They carried out experimental study to
analyze the effect of high ve1ocity fluid flow on the static and
dynamic characteristics of simply supported pipe. Y. L. Zhang
[3] did vibration analysis of pipes conveying fluid. He derived
equilibrium matrix equation for a discretized pipe elements
containing flowing fluid using Lagrange’s principle and the
Ritz method considering the coupling between the pipe and
fluid. The model is then used to investigate the vibratory
behavior of the pipe conveying fluid. Robert P. Evans et al. [4]
studied flow rate measurements using flow induced pipe
vibration. They used flow rate measurement technique based
on signal noise. This noise is captured by using an
accelerometer attached to the surface of pipe. Using the
experimental setup they found the quadratic relationship
between the signal noise and flow rate in the pipe over the test
region. Narasimha Marakala et al. [7] investigated combined
effect of fluid and thermal induced vibration on vertical thin
slender tube experimentally and theoretically. Finite element
method considering 1-D beam is used for investigating the
dynamic behavior of the thin slender pipe for analysis. The
fundamental natural frequency of vibration is correlated with
experimental and numerical method. They used LabView©
tool to measure vibration. Analytical solution is obtained by
FEA. Bong Soo Kim et al. [8] did analysis of fluid induced
vibration of cryogenic pipes in consideration of the cooling
effect. Researchers derived the governing equation of motion
by applying Newton’s second law and momentum equation.
Changes in properties of the fluid and system relative to
temperature, vibration behavior were analyzed. Matthew T.
Pittard et al. [5] studied flow induced vibration caused by fully
developed flow. They carried out numerical and experimental
analysis for a turbulent flow through a straight pipe. The
numerical approach was based on Reynolds averaged Navier-
strokes flow model, which is further based on large eddy
simulation (LES) flow model that computes the instantaneous
pressure fluctuation in turbulent flow. The experimental study
was carried out by using spectrum analyzer (HP35670A) in
data acquisition system in which accelerometer was mounted
on top of straight pipes to measure a pipe vibration.
Here, analytically a mathematical model for fluid flow is
derived which is solved in MATLAB© to get the values of
vibrational amplitude. For experimental study an experimental
setup is developed and the frequency v/s amplitude plot is
acquired by using FFT analyzer by varying the discharge, pipe
diameter and pipe thickness. Simulation work is carried out in
ANSYS©.

978-1-5090-2794-1/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

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 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)

II. MATHEMATICAL MODELING

A. Equation of Motion for Fluid Flow Though Pipe
Iyant grant et al. [6] theoretically described the behavior of
fluid flow through pipe. Consider a pipe having a length ,
modulus of elasticity , density and its transverse area
moment of inertia . A fluid flows through the pipe at pressure
, having a density at a constant velocity through the
internal cross section area of pipe . As the fluid flows
through the deflecting pipe, it experiences centrifugal
acceleration because of the changing curvature of the
deforming pipe. These accelerations are opposed by the
vertical component of the fluid pressure applied to the fluid
element and the pressure force per unit length applied on the
fluid elements by the pipe walls. Fig. 1 shows a pipe span that Fig. 2(b). Forces and moments acting on pipe element [6]
has transverse deflection Y(x,t) from its equilibrium position.
The equation of motion of the pipe element is derived from
Fig. 2(b). Summing forces parallel to the pipe axis gives;

+ − =0 (3)

where is the longitudinal tension in the pipe and is the

transverse shear load carried by the pipe. The forces on the
element of pipe that act normal to the pipe axis accelerate the
Fig. 1. Fluid conveying pipe with pinned ends [6] pipe element in the Y-direction. For small deformation in Fig.
The small elements cut from the pipe as shown in Fig. 2(a) 2(b);
and Fig. 2(b) which shows the forces and moments acting on
elements of the fluid and pipe respectively. A balance of + − = (4)
forces on the fluid element in the Y-direction for small
deformation is given by; The transverse shear force in the pipe is related to the
bending moment in the pipe and the pipe deformation is
− = + (1) given by;
=− =− (5)
The pressure gradient in the fluid along the length of the pipe
is opposed by the shear stress of fluid friction against the pipe Putting value of from (5) to (4) yields;
walls. For constant flow velocity, summing forces parallel to
the pipe axis is given in Fig. 2(a).
+ + − + + =0
+ =0 (2)
(6)
where is the inner perimeter of the pipe and is the shear
stress on the inner surface of the pipe. The term − in (6) is independent of position along the
length (span) of the pipe. If we assume that at the end of the
pipe, tension in the pipe is zero and the fluid pressure is equal
to ambient pressure, = = 0 at = , then (6) implies that
− = 0 for all values of x. Thus (6) is given by;

+ +2 + =0 (7)

where M is the mass per unit length of the pipe and fluid.
Equation (7) represents the equation of motion for fluid flow
through pipe.
B. Calculation of Vibration Amplitude
Dynamic stresses arising as a result of transverse vibrations
of pipelines are connected with the dynamic bending moment
[8];
Fig. 2(a). Forces and moments acting on fluid element [6]

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 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)

Fig. 3. Representation of pipe with fluid model (a) Actual (b) Zoomed
= (8)
where, B. Meshing
is the stress induced on internal pipe due to fluid flow Meshing is a pre-processing step in which an entire
is the moment of inertia of pipe geometry is split up into n-numbers of subdomain elements.
is the bending moment. For meshed model mechanical solver graphic user display is
used were a hexahedral shape element is selected as shown in
The bending moment in piping vibration is given by;
Fig. 4. Mesh size is kept default due to compromising between
=− (9) accuracy and computational time.

The character of vibration depends on the configuration of the

pipeline and boundary condition. From the pipeline model
shown in Fig. 1, the vibrational mode shape for the first mode
resonance is a sine wave.
= sin (10)
The maximum displacement and stress occurs in the middle of
the span i.e = ⁄2. Substituting (10) and (9) in (8) yields;

= (11)
By using Thin cylinder and hoops law theory, the maximum
amplitude is given by;
(a) (b)
= (12) Fig. 4. Meshing representation of pipe with fluid model (a) Actual (b) Zoomed

C. Solver Model
where,
P is the pressure on internal walls of pipe Solver model is a user defined system in ANSYS© having
t is the thickness of pipe mathematical equations and formulas which are used to
is the outside diameter of pipe describe the nature and behavior of fluid flow inside the pipe.
is the internal radius of pipe. -epsilon model is most commonly used in computational
fluid dynamics to simulate mean flow characteristics for
III. SIMULATION ANALYSIS turbulent flow conditions. It is a two equation model; first
called turbulent kinetic energy and second determines the rate
Simulation study for flow induced vibration is carried out
of dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy.
in ANSYS© Fluent. The fluid model is assumed to be fully
developed flow inside the pipe. For turbulent kinetic energy ( );
A. Modeling ( ) ( )
+ = +2 − (13)
Modeling of pipe geometry is carried out in fluent cell of
ANSYS© workbench. Sketch of pipe is prepared in design
modeler graphic window. The fluid model is made completely For dissipation ( );
solid inside the hollow pipe assuming the fluid to be fully
developed. The completed geometry is shown in Fig. 3. ( ) ( )
+ = + 2 −

(14)
where,
represents velocity component in corresponding direction.
represents component of rate of deformation.
represents eddy viscosity.
D. Fluent Boundary Condition and Solution
The fluent material is selected as water-liquid type with its
material properties as shown in Table I. Each experiment has
its own value of velocity inlet as per the geometry. Due to this
velocity, fluid flow will induced a pressure on inner walls of
(a) (b) the pipe causing it to vibrate. Fluent solution is carried out

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 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)
using pressure velocity coupling scheme. Here, pressure
gradient of least square cell is selected. Solution initialization
is kept standard with reference frame from cell zone. Initial
values of gauge pressure, velocity in X and Y direction is kept
zero whereas velocity in Z direction is user defined. After
defining the maximum iteration to solve the analysis, solution
will be completed and the pressure which is coming due to the
entered boundary conditions is noted down.
E. Static Structural Analysis
Fluent analysis is followed by static structural analysis.
Here pipe material property, loading condition, boundary
condition will be defined. The static structural cell is dropped
down into the cell of fluent analysis. Due to this fluid
geometry model, meshing, material properties will be shared
as a result making a user friendly. The material property for
fluid and pipe model is given in Table I as given below.
TABLE I. MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF FLUID AND PIPE MODEL
Property Fluid Pipe
Density 998.2 kg/m3 7850 kg/m3
Specific Heat 4182 J/kg K - experimental setup consist of a water tank with 1.5 HP pump,
Thermal Conductivity 0.6 W/mK - two control valves, flanged coupling, rubber coupler, two
Viscosity 0.001003 kg/ms - pressure gauges, and 1 " mild steel pipe for making whole
Young’s Modulus - 2E11 Pa
Poisson’s Ratio - 0.3
The pipe is fixed at both the ends. Here, the pressure is
imported from the fluent analysis cell to static structural
analysis where this pressure will serve as an input to harmonic
analysis.
F. Dynamic Analysis
Dynamic analysis is the final approach to the simulation
study. It basically consists of modal and harmonic analysis.
Modal analysis is performed to get the systems natural
frequency of vibration. The frequency range is kept at 0-700
Hz. Harmonic analysis is done to get the frequency v/s
amplitude plots as shown in Fig. 5. The orientation of the plot
is kept on Y axis i.e. the amplitude of pipe vibration is taken
laterally (perpendicular) to the pipe axis. For a selected range
of frequency (0-700 Hz), maximum peak of vibration
spectrum at a particular frequency is noted.
Fig. 5. Representation of harmonic response for 24mm diameter, 2.4mm
thickness, 90 lpm
IV.
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V. EXPERIMENTATION
Experiment analysis is carried to analyze the effect of
different factors on amplitude of pipe vibration. The main
objective is to carry out DOE to minimize the amplitude of
vibration when the fluid passing through the pipe. An
orthogonal array with following three factors and three levels
are selected as
• Diameter - 24mm, 32mm, 40mm.
• Thickness - 2.4mm, 3.2mm, 4.0mm.
• Discharge - 90 lpm, 120 lpm, 150 lpm.
Other factors such as material of test section which is
galvanized iron (GI) pipe, length of test section is taken as a
constant. From three factors and three levels full factorial
analysis on simulation and experimental study is carried out
for which twenty seven combinations are selected which are
given in Table IV.
A. Experimental Setup
The experimental setup is fabricated for acquiring the
vibration spectrum for different test sections of pipe. The
setup and galvanized pipes are used as test section. To support
the whole setup stands are used and to isolate the vibrations
between ground and supports rubber pads are provided
between the stand and ground. Water tank is used to store the
water for circulation through all test bed pipe. Pipes and
valves are joined by using Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding to
avoid leakage of water through joints. The layout of
experimental setup is shown in Fig. 6. A control valve is
placed between the pipe and pump to maintain constant
pressure in test pipe. Pressure can be adjusted by adjusting
valve position.
There are two rubber couplers placed between the piping
system and test section to easily attach and detach the test
section and also to isolate vibrations generated due to pump.
Test pipe is of 2 meter length and pressure gauge is mounted
at a distance of 1.75 meter from flow direction and vibration is
measured at a distance of 0.75 meter from flow direction.
Fig. 6. Schematic representation of flow loop
B. Experimental Procedure
 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)

The experiment is carried out on experimental setup which is Sum of squares due to factor ‘X’:
shown in Fig. 7. The test section pipe of GI having diameter = ∑ ( − ) (16)
24mm with thickness of 2.4mm is attached to the experimental
setup. The pump is then started. Initially the setup is allowed The complete analysis of variance is summarized and given in
to run for few minutes to settle all minor vibrations and to Table III which contains percentage contribution of each
stabilize the flow. The valve position is adjusted such that the factor on amplitude of vibration.
readings of discharge on flow meter are suitably made. The
TABLE III. SUMMARIZATION OF ANOVA
accelerometer is fitted on the top surface of the test section at
Sum of MS = FRatio =
a distance of 0.75 meter from the direction of flow which is Source of %
squares DOF
connected to RT-photon+ signal analyzer. Vibrations signals variation Contribution
(SS)
are captured with the help of a computer terminal through RT-
Diameter 4.5009 2.2504
photon+ in the form of frequency vs. amplitude plot along x, y 2 13.028 9.63
(P) E-16 E-16
and z direction. The above procedure is repeated for the Thickness 1.0818 5.409
remaining twenty seven sections. 2 3.1312 2.32
(Q) E-16 E-17
Discharge 4.0771 2.0385
2 118.01 87.305
(R) E-15 E-15
3.4549 1.7274
Error 2 - 0.75
E-17 E-17
4.67
Total 8 - - 100
E-15
It can be seen that from above Table III, discharge is the more
dominant factor which is contributing around 87.305%, while
the next factor is diameter which contributes around 9.63%
and the factor thickness contributes less of value 2.32%.
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Theoretical, simulation and experimental results for all twenty
seven sections are calculated, but only three sections plot are
shown below and remaining are discussed in Table IV.
Frequency spectrum for experimental and simulation studies
are shown below;
Fig. 7. Experimental setup of flow induced vibration in pipe

C. Statistical Optimization of Experimental Result

Design of experiment is set for analyzing the effect of factors
affecting flow induced vibration in particular flow through
pipes. Factors like diameter, thickness, discharge are selected
with three different levels. Here experimental results are taken
for statistical analysis. After combination of all factors with
levels mean factor effect is given in Table II as given below;
TABLE II. FACTOR EFFECTS
Effects at levels
Factors (a) (b)
1 2 3 Fig. 8. Frequency spectrum plot for 24mm diameter, 2.4mm thickness, 90 lpm
Diameter (P) 5.27E-8 4.76E-8 4.27E-8 discharge (a) Experimental (b) Simulation
Thickness (Q) 5.02E-8 4.76E-8 4.53E-8
Discharge (R) 3.27E-8 4.76E-8 6.28E-8
1. ANOVA:
Total sum of squares:
= ∑ × − (15)
.
where, m = ∑ , = = 4.77E-8

From above equation,

SST = 4.67E-15
(a) (b)
In general, Fig. 9. Frequency spectrum plot for 24mm diameter, 2.4mm thickness, 120
lpm discharge (a) Experimental (b) Simulation

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 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering Field (ICNTE-2017)

Fig. 8(a), 9(a) and 10(a) shows an experimental plot and Fig. From above Table IV, after comparing all three analysis the
8(b), 9(b) and 10(b) shows a simulation plot for 24mm average error between experimentation and simulation is
diameter, 2.4mm thickness at 90 lpm, 120 lpm and 150 lpm 4.89%, between simulation and theoretical is 3.27%, and
discharge respectively. The maximum peak amplitude from between experimentation and theoretical is 2.93%.
experimentation is 4E-8 mm, 5.5E-8 mm, 7.1E-8 mm and
VII. CONCLUSION
from simulation maximum peak is 3.66E-8 mm, 5.42E-8 mm,
6.81E-8 mm for respective value of discharges. The vibration analysis is carried out to study the effect of
various factors which contributes to pipe vibrations using
theoretically, experimentally and by simulation technique.
These techniques result are compared and found to be in good
agreement with each other as reported in literature.
The following conclusions are drawn from the present study;
• The vibrational amplitude increases as the volumetric
flow rate increases for a selected range of flow.
• As the diameter of pipe increases, vibration spectrum
shows a reduction in amplitude for a given discharge.
(a) (b)
Fig. 10. Frequency spectrum plot for 24mm diameter, 2.4mm thickness, 150 • Also as thickness increases, vibrational spectrum
lpm discharge (a) Experimental (b) Simulation shows a very slight reduction in vibrational amplitude
TABLE IV. COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL, SIMULATION AND
for a selected discharge.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULT • Using DOE analysis, it can be concluded that
No. of Dia. Thick. Disch. Theoretical. Experimental. Simulation discharge is the dominant factor for amplitude of
Exp. (mm) (mm) (lpm) (E-8 mm) (E-8 mm) (E-8 mm) vibration i.e. 87.305%. Diameter is the next
1 24 2.4 90 3.92 4.0 3.66 contributing factor i.e. 9.63%. Also thickness
2 24 3.2 90 3.71 3.8 3.56 contributes less i.e. 2.32%.
3 24 4.0 90 3.48 3.6 3.24 • The optimal combination for minimum vibrational
4 24 2.4 120 5.43 5.5 5.42 amplitude from selected factor and level is 40mm
5 24 3.2 120 5.17 5.2 5.03
diameter, 4.0mm thickness, 90lpm discharge.
6 24 4.0 120 4.85 4.9 4.66
7 24 2.4 150 6.97 7.1 6.81 REFERENCES
8 24 3.2 150 6.59 6.8 6.67
[1] Harold L. Dodds, “Effect of high-velocity fluid flow on the rending
9 24 4.0 150 6.46 6.6 6.26 vibrations and static divergence of a simply supported pipe”,
10 32 2.4 90 3.36 3.5 3.22 National aeronautics and space administration, 1965
11 32 3.2 90 3.15 3.2 3.0 [2] Blevins R.D, Flow Induced Vibrations, Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd,
12 32 4.0 90 2.85 2.9 2.79 New York, 1977
13 32 2.4 120 4.90 5.0 4.73 [3] Y. L. Zhang, “Vibration analysis of pipes conveying fluid”,
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14 32 3.2 120 4.72 4.8 4.91
UK,1999
15 32 4.0 120 4.46 4.6 4.24 [4] Robert P. Evans, “Flow rate measurements using flow induced pipe
16 32 2.4 150 6.11 6.5 5.95 vibration”, ASME, J. Fluids Eng. 126(2), 280-285, 6 pages, 2004.
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18 32 4.0 150 6.06 6.1 5.84 turbulent flow induced pipe vibration in fully developed flow”,
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22 40 2.4 120 4.41 4.5 4.38 thermal induced vibration on vertical thin slender tube
23 40 3.2 120 4.25 4.3 4.13 experimentally and theoretically”, IOSR, 2008
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25 40 2.4 150 6.05 6.1 5.89
pp 2375-2385, 2008
26 40 3.2 150 5.53 5.7 5.58 [9] Przemyslaw Drozyner, “Determining the limits of piping vibration”,
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Volume 1 (165), 2011

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