Vibrations of a vertical 90° pipe bend under two-phase flow conditions

Purpose A simulation framework that includes a finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is generated to study the effect of unstable two-phase flow-induced vibrations at a vertical 90° pipe bend. The corresponding fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of an unstable flow may pose danger to the piping structure. This paper intends to discuss this interaction. Design/methodology/approach Four cases of flows under the slug flow and churn flow regimes were investigated. The flow regimes vary in superficial gas velocities with velocities from 0.978 m/s to 9.04 m/s, while the superficial liquid velocity is kept constant at 0.61 m/s. The pipe model consists of an internal diameter of 0.0525 m, a bend radius of 0.0762 m, and a stainless-steel pipe structure. Findings Results show that the average unstable void fractions increase with the superficial gas velocities, but the peak frequencies were constant at 13 Hz for three of the cases. The total displacement and von Mises stress increase with a declining rate in each subsequent case, while the RMS of von Mises stress begins to stall at superficial gas velocities between 5 m/s and 9.04 m/s. The peak frequencies of von Mises stress decrease in each subsequent case. Originality/value The proposed model can be used to investigate the FSI effect of unstable void fractions at pipe bends and could assist in the development of piping systems in which the use of piping elements arranged close together are unavoidable.