Vibration Analysis of a Turbulent Fluid Passing Inside an Elbow Shaped Pipe Section

Abstract

Fluids being passing through a pipeline system can cause internal vibrations within the pipelines. If these vibrations weren’t considered at the design of the system, and flow induced vibrations resonate with the pipes natural frequency, the sudden amplified vibrations can cause destructive damage to the pipeline system. Thus, it is extremely important to identify and predict all vibrations a certain pipeline system will possibly encounter during its lifetime when designing the system, also choosing the proper material with regard to their natural frequencies to avoid destructive resonances from happening. In this study, using ABAQUS as a CFD solver, we studied the forced and free vibrations caused by a turbulence flow of a fluid with different speeds through a 90 degree bent elbow pipe. We compared the vibration modes and frequencies for different cases of fluid speeds, and concluded at what natural frequency a vibration resonance may occur leading to a possible pipe failure.