Testing System Set-Up to Evaluate Acoustic Induced Vibration

A consortium of companies is collaborating in a Joint Industry Project (JIP) for Acoustic Induced Vibration (AIV). Laboratory testing is one of the work areas of the JIP. The goals of the tests are to evaluate typical pipe fittings for AIV induced fatigue, to rank order their AIV risk and to obtain data for validation of computational models. An NPS6x8 (6R8) pressure safety valve was the flow and noise input to a 10S piping system, which consisted of an NPS12 tailpipe input into an NPS12x20 tee. Small bore connectors (SBCs) were included in both the NPS12 tailpipe and the NPS20 header. The type of fitting used as the connection between the SBC and the pipe was varied. The system was operating in a Carucci-Mueller acoustic power of around 175 dB. Vibration acceleration response of the system was measured, and dynamic strain data was also gathered to evaluate fatigue life. The piping and data acquisition system setup will be discussed along with the type of results that are being obtained.