Vibration response of a pipe subjected to two-phase flow: Analytical formulations and experiments

Abstract

This paper treats the two-phase flow-induced vibration in pipes. A broad range of two-phase flow conditions, including bubbly, dispersed and slug flow, were tested in a clamped-clamped straight horizontal pipe. The vibration response of both transversal directions for two span lengths was measured. From experimental results, an in-depth discussion on the nature of the flow excitation and flow-parameters influence is presented. The hydrodynamic mass parameter is also studied. Experimental results suggest that it is proportional to mixture density. On the other hand, two analytical formulations were developed and tested against experimental results. One formulation predicts the quadratic trend between standard deviation of acceleration and shear velocity found in experiments. The other formulation indicates that the peak-frequency of vibration response depends strongly on void fraction. It provides accurate predictions of peak-frequency, predicting 97.6% of the data within ±10% error bands.