J Fail. Anal. and Preven.

DOI 10.1007/s11668-016-0116-z

TECHNICAL ARTICLE—PEER-REVIEWED

The Vibration Characteristics Analysis of Pipeline Under

the Action of Gas Pressure Pulsation Coupling
Jialin Tian . Changfu Yuan . Lin Yang . Chunming Wu .
Gang Liu . Zhi Yang

Submitted: 27 October 2015 / in revised form: 30 January 2016

Ó ASM International 2016

Abstract In order to research the pipeline vibration and Introduction

prevent the fatigue failure of pipeline, the calculation model
and methods for vibration characteristics analysis of pipeline Nowadays, with the rapidly developed of industry, the pipe-
under the action of the gas pressure pulsation and pipeline line system plays a very important role in the transportation of
coupling are presented in this paper. According to the oil, natural gas, and other energy. And the pipeline system is
pipeline structure, the pipeline model with different pipe consisted of elbows, different pipe diameters, collecting pipes,
diameters is established. Based on the model and combined and so on. With the gas velocity changing in these pipes, the
with the structure parameters of pipeline, the calculation greater pressure fluctuation will be produced, causing the
methods of gas column natural frequency, gas pressure vibration of the pipeline system [1–5]. Excessive pipe vibra-
pulsation, and exciting force are built. By these ways, the tion causes the damage to the pipe system and machine
relationships between the gas column natural frequency and equipment. During the compressor unit operating, the pipeline
orders, the gas pressure pulsation and orders, and the excit- vibration will affect the safe operation of the compressor unit
ing force and aspect ratio are acquired. Besides, the variable and restrict the transport volume of natural gas [6–9].
relationships of vibration displacement and velocity of In the relevant filed, scholars have conducted many
pipeline can be obtained. Comparing the calculated results studies to reduce the pressure pulsation and prevent fatigue.
with the field test values, the calculated results are in Research groups in Xi’an Jiaotong University have devel-
agreement with the test values, and the correctness of the oped the calculation method that calculates gas flowing in
calculation model and method is verified. The results show complex pipe system, which provides a theoretical basis for
that taking the pressure pulsating and pipe coupling effect solving the gas flow pulsation and pipe vibration in piston
account into the vibration analysis of different pipe diame- compressor [10]; Tan Ping used the finite element model-
ters, which can truly reflect the vibration characteristics of ing method to analysis the vibration of fluid pulsation in
pipeline and possess important reference value for prevent- natural gas pipe system, obtaining a conclusion that the
ing fatigue failure and reducing the vibration of the pipeline. fluid pulsation has a serious influence on dynamic response
of pipe system and proposing the corresponding elimina-
Keywords Pressure pulsation  Coupling  Pipeline  tion measures [11]. According to the theory of plane wave
Vibration  Model  Calculation method motion, Li Xin and Xiao Qiqiang established the finite
element equations of the flow in the pipe [12]. In the
middle of the twentieth century, the United States took the
J. Tian  C. Yuan (&)  L. Yang  C. Wu  G. Liu  Z. Yang
lead in the pipeline vibration, and the Vadim S used finite
School of Mechatronic Engineering, Southwest Petroleum disturbance theory to predict the pressure pulsation of the
University, Chengdu 610500, China reciprocating compressor system [13]; I. Györi and Gy. Joó
e-mail: [email protected] took a discussion on the pulsation velocity calculation of
J. Tian
the compressor piping system by the theory of sound
School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong pressure [14].
University, Chengdu 610031, China

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Regarding the pressure pulsation as the excitation factor, Piping vibration differential equation is written as
and taking the inherent pipeline structure and characteris- ½M y00 þ ½Cy0 þ ½K y ¼ fF g; ðEq 2Þ
tics as the research object, the analysis model of gas
pressure pulsation and pipe coupling vibration is estab- where ½M  is the total mass matrix of the system; ½C  is the
lished in this paper. The vibration of gas pressure pulsation composite damping; ½K  is the total stiffness matrix of the
acts on the pipeline structure is analyzed by numerical system; y00 is the acceleration vector; y0 is the velocity
example, and then the feasibility of the method is verified vector; y is the nodal displacement vector; and fF g is
by comparing with the results of the field test. exciting force vector.
In the gas pipeline, considering the influences of the air
flow and the damping, and according to the theory of plane
Establishment of the Analysis Model wave motion, the continuity equation and motion equation
of the gas wave along the pipeline to axial movement are
Calculation of Pressure Pulsation in Pipeline System obtained.
Continuous equation is written as
If no gas pressure and velocity fluctuation in the pipe, it oq oq ou
will not cause vibration. When gas flow velocity is changed þu þq ¼0 ðEq 3Þ
ot ox ox
in the pipeline, the pressure pulsation will be generated.
Motion equation is written as:
For the gas column, it constitutes an incentive to form the
pressure fluctuation and generate exciting force at the ou ou b 1 op
þu þ u¼ : ðEq 4Þ
elbow or the variable cross section. Thus, the pipe system ot ox q q ox
is compelled to generate the vibration, and the vibration
Assuming that the gas obeys the law of the ideal gas and
energy is transformed into the mechanical energy. As
the wave process is reversible adiabatic, according to the
shown in Fig. 1, in order to study the pipe vibration caused
energy equation:
by the pressure pulsation, a pipeline model is presented,  
which is composed of straight pipeline and reducing pipe. op
¼ a2 : ðEq 5Þ
For the model, the port 1 is closed and port 4 is opened. oq s
When the gas velocity is high in the pipeline, Coriolis force
Substituting Eq 5 into Eq 3, then the continuity equation
and centrifugal force have an obvious influence on the
can be rewritten as
pipeline vibration. Neglecting the influence of gravity,
structural damping, and external extrusion pressure, the op op ou
þ u þ qa2 ¼ 0: ðEq 6Þ
equation of lateral free vibration is ot ox ox

o4 y 2
o2 y o2 y After linearizing Eqs 4 and 6, substituting Eq 7 into it:
2o y 8
EI þ Mv þ 2Mv þ ð M þ mÞ ¼ 0;
ox4 ox2 oxot ot2 < u ¼ u0 þ u t
>
ðEq 1Þ p ¼ p0 þ pt ; ðEq 7Þ
>
:
where EI is the flexural rigidity of pipeline, N/m2 ; M is the q ¼ q0 þ qt
unit length quality of gas, kg; v is the average velocity of
where u, p, and q are, respectively, instantaneous values of
gas, m/s; y is the lateral displacement of pipeline, m; x is
velocity, pressure, and density; u0 , p0 , and q0 are, respec-
the axis coordinate of pipeline, m; t is the time variable, s;
tively, the average value of velocity, pressure, and density;
and m is the unit length quality of pipeline, kg.
ut , pt , and qt are, respectively, the pulse value of velocity,
In order to simplify the calculation, the pipeline vibra-
pressure, and density.
tion system with infinite freedom is replaced by a discrete
In the pipeline, because the pulsation value is small
system with a limited degree of freedom.
compared with the average value of air flow, regarding
the pulse volume and its independent variables x, t that is
counted partial derivative as a first order. Then substi-
y
tuting Eq 7 into Eq 4, the partial derivative of x is
1 2 3 4 counted, and substituting Eq 7 into Eq 6, the partial
v derivative of x, t are, respectively, counted, as shown in
d1 S1 d 2 S2 x the following:
l1 l3 o2 pt o2 ut o2 ut out
2 4
2
þ q0 þ q0 u0 2 þ b ¼0 ðEq 8Þ
ox otox ox ox
Fig. 1 The pipeline model

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J Fail. Anal. and Preven.

 2 
o2 ut 1 o pt o2 pt where pt1 , pt2 are, respectively, the pressure pulsation value
¼ þ u0 2 ðEq 9Þ
ox2 q0 a2 otox ox of inlet and outlet section of the pipe 1–1 with equal sec-
  tion, MPa; ut1 , ut2 are, respectively, the pulsation velocity
o2 ut 1 o2 pt o2 pt
¼ þ u0 : ðEq 10Þ of inlet and outlet section of the pipe 1–1 with equal sec-
oxot q0 a2 ot2 oxot 
tion, m=s; q0 is the average density of natural gas, kg m3 ;
According to Eqs 8–10, the two orders partial x is the pulsating circular frequency, rad=s; and l12 is the
differential equation of pressure fluctuation pt about x, t length of the pipe 1–1, m.
is obtained. So, the transfer matrix of pipe 1–1 can be written as
o2 pt o2 pt  2  2  
2 o pt b opt buo opt cos xa l12 q0 a sin xa l12
þ 2u 0 þ u 0  a þ þ ¼ 0: M12 ¼ : ðEq 17Þ
ot2 otox ox2 q0 ot q0 ox 1 x
cos xa l12
q a sin a l12
0
ðEq 11Þ
Similarly, the transfer matrix of the pipe 3–4 with equal
In the pipeline, due to the average gas velocity, u0 is section in Fig. 1 can be written as
much smaller than the sound velocity a, and the average
 
velocity can be neglected. So Eq 11 can be transformed cos xa l34 q0 a sin xa l34
M34 ¼ 1 x
cos xa l34 : ðEq 18Þ
into q a sin a l34
0

o2 pt o2 pt b opt For the reducing pipe 2–3 in Fig. 1, the relation between
2
¼ a2 2  ; ðEq 12Þ
ot ox q0 ot pressure causation and velocity is
" #  " #
where pt is instantaneous pressure, MPa; q0 is average pt3 1 02 pt2
density of natural gas, kg/m3 ; a is propagation velocity of ¼ 0 d1 ; ðEq 19Þ
ut3 2
d2 ut2
sound in the medium, m/s; b is the damping.
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi where pt2 , pt3 are, respectively, the pressure pulsation value
a ¼ kgRT ; ðEq 13Þ
of inlet and outlet section of the pipe section 2–3, MPa; ut2 ,
where k is the gas adiabatic index; g is the gravity accel- ut3 are, respectively, the pulsation velocity of the inlet and
eration, m/s2 ; R is the gas constant; and T is the gas outlet section of pipe section 2–3.
thermodynamic temperature K. So, the transfer matrix of pipe 2–3 can be written as
According to Fig. 1, the boundary conditions of the    
pipeline are as follows: start port closed and the terminal 1 0 1 0
M23 ¼ 0
d12 ¼ ; ðEq 20Þ
opened. d22 0 H2

ptx ð0; tÞ ¼ 0 where d1 and d2 are, respectively, diameter of the two ends
ðt  0Þ; ðEq 14Þ
pt ð1; tÞ ¼ 0 of the pipe 2–3,m and aspect ratio H ¼ d1 =d2 .
According to matrix calculation method, it obtains
The solution of Eq 15 is obtained by Eq 14.
  " # " #
 bt np  p=2 pt4 pt1
pt ðx; tÞ ¼ e 2q0 ðAn cosðmn tÞ þ Bn sinðmn tÞÞ cos x ; ¼ M12  M23  M34 : ðEq 21Þ
L ut4 ut1
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ðEq 15Þ
  2 2 Because the natural frequency of the gas column has no
npp=2 b
where mn ¼ L a  2q0 ; n ¼ 1; 2; 3  ; L is the relationship with the amplitude, the pt or ut can be set to 1
pipeline length, m; An , Bn are the constant. when it is not 0, which cannot affect the natural frequency
of the gas column.
Calculation of Natural Frequency of Gas Column in In this paper, the boundary conditions are as follows:
Pipe System port 1 closing and port 4 opening, which are written as
(
According to the flow pulsation and vibration of the piston pt1 ¼ 1; ut1 ¼ 0
: ðEq 22Þ
compressor, the transfer matrix of different pipeline ele- pt4 ¼ 0; ut4 ¼ 1
ments can be obtained.
For the pipe 1–1 with equal section in Fig. 1, the rela- Substituting Eq 22 into Eq 21, we can get
tion between pressure causation and velocity is " # " #

  
 0 1
pt2 cos x l12 q0 a sin xa l12 pt1 ¼ M12  M23  M34 : ðEq 23Þ
¼ 1 sina x l cos xa l12 ; ðEq 16Þ 1 0
ut2 q0 a a 12 ut1

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Exciting Force Analysis Table 1 Numerical parameters

Parameter
The cylinder suction and exhaust intermittently and peri- Parameter name values
odically will produce a pulse state of the gas in the
The unit length quality of pipeline (kg/m) 16.84
pipeline. Pulsating airflow through the elbows, reducers, 3
Average density of natural gas q0 (kg/m ) 0.7174
valves, and other parts will produce the exciting force that
Gas adiabatic index 1.4
acts on the pipeline system to generate the vibration
response and the enable pipeline fatigue failure. Therefore, Gravity acceleration g (m/s2) 9.8
the exciting force should be minimized in the operation Gas constant R (kg m/(kg K)) 29.3
process of pipeline system. Gas thermodynamic temperature T (K) 330.4
In order to illustrate the influence of exciting force that Pipe length L (m) 1.90
caused by the pressure pulsation to the vibration of pipe- Constant An, Bn 4, 3
line, this paper carry on the analysis according to the Damping b 0.1
reducing pipeline model in Fig. 1. Pressure inside the pipe The length l1–2 of the pipe 1–1 (m) 0.96
is p; the flow area of the thick pipe end is S1 ; and the flow The length l3–4 of the pipe 3–4 (m) 0.8
area of the thin pipe end is S2 . In the reducing pipe 2–3 on The diameter d1 of reducing pipe 2–3 at the left (m) 0.21
both sides of the cross section, the fluid thrust to the right is The diameter d2 of reducing pipe 2–3 at the right (m) 0.14
pS1 , and to the left is pS2 . F is the action force of fluid on
the reducing pipe and is equal to the sum of the two forces.
the pressure fluctuation varies quickly with the increase of
F ¼ pðS1  S2 Þ: ðEq 24Þ order. Meanwhile, the fluctuation amplitude of the pressure
When the pressure pulsation of airflow exists, p ¼ p0 þ pt . pulsation is elevating. With the increase of the displace-
Then Eq 24 is ment, the pressure pulsation presents periodic variation,
and the value of the pressure pulsation decreases gradually
F ¼ F0 þ Ft ¼ p0 ðS1  S2 Þ þ pt ðS1  S2 Þ: ðEq 25Þ over time.
In the pipeline, when there is no air pressure pulsation, the When x ¼ 0:96m and width-diameter ratio H ¼ 1:5 of
pipeline only suffers the static load from the airflow and it reducing pipe 2–3, according to the exciting force, Eq 26
cannot generate vibration. Then according to Eqs 15 and was used to analyze the relationship between the excitation
25, the excitation force can be obtained: force and the time under different orders, as shown in
Fig. 3.
Ft ¼ pt ðx;tÞðS1  S2 Þ
 : According to Fig. 3, it can be seen that when the width-
2qbt npp=2
¼e 0 ðAn cosðmn tÞ þ Bn sinðmn tÞÞcos L x ðS1  S2 Þ diameter ratio has been defined, the exciting force increa-
ðEq 26Þ ses with the increase of order. Under different orders, the
exciting force firstly reached the maximum value. But, due
to the existence of damping, the exciting force decays
Vibration Calculation Results and Analysis gradually to zero over time.
When the order is n ¼ 1, x ¼ 0:96 m, according to the
The numerical parameters are shown in Table 1, where exciting force, Eq 26 was used to analyze the relationship
some of them are derived from the experimental and field between the excitation force of reducing pipe 2–3 and the
data. time under different width-diameter ratios Hn , as shown in
According to the engineering practice, the top 8 orders’ Fig. 4.
natural frequency of the pipeline system can be obtained According to Fig. 4, it can be seen that in the case the
based on the established natural frequency calculation order has been defined, the exciting force value increases
formula of gas column in the pipeline system. The calcu- with the elevation of width-diameter ratio, while the
lation results are shown in Table 2. exciting force decreases gradually over time. Therefore, we
In order to calculate and analyze the pressure fluctua- should reduce the width-diameter ratio of reducing pipe in
tion, in this mode, consider the top four orders and set up the design of the pipeline.
the independent variable x of the pipeline length that varies By the vibration Eqs 1 and 2, there is a close relation-
from 0 to 1.9 meters. As shown in Fig. 2, the relationships ship between the exciting force and the vibration equation.
between the pressure fluctuation value and x, t in different The veracity of the vibration equation provides a theoret-
orders can be obtained by Eq 15. ical basis for the comprehensive study of the exciting force.
According to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the value of the Through Eqs 26 and 2, we will discuss that with the change
pressure pulsation changes with order, and the frequency of of time, the exciting force in reducing pipe x ¼ 0:96 m and

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Table 2 Calculation results of natural frequency of gas column 50

n=1
40 n=2
Natural frequency of
Order, n gas column, fn(Hz) n=3
30
n=4
1 38.8308 20

Exciting force (KN)

2 166.8761 10
3 248.8536
0
4 369.0294
-10
5 462.1498
6 569.3750 -20

7 676.6002 -30

8 769.7206 -40

-50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (s)

n=1 Fig. 3 When the excitation force varies with time under different
3
n=2 orders
n=3
2
n=4
Pressure pulsation (MPa)

1 80
H1=1.5
60 H2=1.6
0
H3=1.7
40 H4=1.8
-1
Exciting force Ft (KN)

20
-2

2 0
-3 1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0
Pipe length (m) -20
20
Time (s)
-40
Fig. 2 Relationship of pressure pulsation with time and displacement
under different orders -60

-80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
under different orders has influence on the vibration dis-
Time (s)
placement and velocity of pipe. The results are shown,
respectively, in the following Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 4 The variation of exciting force under width-diameter ratios
According to Figs. 5 and 6, it can be seen that all the with time
vibration displacement and the vibration velocity of dif-
ferent orders reached to the maximum value at the test, including the results of the pressure pulsations, the
beginning stage. With the increase of time, the vibration vibration displacements, and velocities of the pipeline.
displacement and the vibration velocity decrease gradually Compared to the analysis results from Fig. 8, the test
and tend to zero eventually. In Fig. 5, when n = 1, the value of natural frequency of the pipeline is in accordance
vibration displacement is the largest, and the vibration with the calculated value, which shows that the method is
displacement decreases with the increase of the order. In effective and feasible. At the same time, a result can be
Fig. 6, the vibration velocity increases gradually with the found that the natural frequency of gas column will present
increase of the order. different changes under different pipe structures, air
velocity, and temperature by experiment and calculation
The Field Test Verification method.
By analyzing the pressure pulsation of the pipeline, the
Experimental verification in the field was used to verify the vibration amplitude of the pressure fluctuation is rela-
correctness of the calculation model and method. By tively large at the initial stage and decreased gradually
obtaining the relevant parameters of a compressor station, over time, and the test results are in agreement with the
as shown in Fig. 7, the accuracy of analysis models was calculated results, which verified the correctness of the
verified by comparing the results of calculation and field calculation method, as shown in Fig. 9. In addition, there

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 J Fail. Anal. and Preven.

-5
x 10 800
3
Calc
2 700
Vibration displacement (m)

Test values
1
600
0

Frequency (Hz)
500
-1

-2 400
n=1
-3 n=2
300
-4 n=3
n=4 200
-5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (s) 100

Fig. 5 The variation of vibration displacement with time in 1–4 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
orders Modal Order

Fig. 8 Calculation value and test value of gas column natural

0.02
n=1 frequency of the pipeline
0.015
n=2
Vibration velocity (m/s)

0.01 n=3
0.005 n=4

-0.005

-0.01

-0.015

-0.02
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Time (s)

Fig. 6 The variation of vibration velocity with time in 1–4 orders

Fig. 9 The time domain diagram of pipeline pressure pulsation

Conclusions

By considering the influence of pressure pulsation on the

pipe vibration, the pipeline vibration analysis model and the
calculation method including the pressure pulsation param-
eters are established. Comparing the natural frequency of the
gas column, pressure pulsation, vibration displacement of
Fig. 7 Field test reducing pipe, and velocity with the field test results, it can
be seen that the calculation results are in agreement with the
is a close relationship between the pressure pulsation test results, which verifies the correctness of the calculation
value and the changes of the pipeline structure parameter method. Through analyzing the source of the pipe vibration,
and the diameter ratio of reducing pipe. The changes of the pressure pulsation is the main factor that causes the
the pressure fluctuation have an important influence on the vibration of the pipeline. Because the gas flow changes
exciting force, so that the pipeline vibration appears dif- sharply in the reducing pipe, this will generate the pressure
ferent changes. By experimental analysis, the vibration pulsation. Thanks to pressure pulsation and the pipe cou-
displacement and vibration velocity of reducing pipe are pling, the exciting force has an effect on the pipeline in
close to the measurement results. And the vibration dis- reducing, curved, and collecting pipe so that the different
placement amplitude in the reducing pipe is higher than pipeline structures and the pressure pulsation are coupled.
that in horizontal pipe. The results are different with the pipeline vibrations. The

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