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Flow induced vibration of subsea gas

production systems caused by choke
valves
BY N.E. LIGTERINK, R. DE GROOT, H.J. SLOT / TNO
EMAD GHARAIBAH / SUBSEA SYSTEMS, GE OIL & GAS
Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held on
8-10 October 2012, San Antonio, Texas.

Abstract
In the design of subsea flow systems integrity and reliability are paramount. As the equipment must
be designed to operate at a large variety of conditions inherent to the many processes, evaluation of
the integrity is complex. Flow induced pulsations and vibrations can cause serious design and
production problems, especially in subsea gas production systems. Mechanical vibrations can be
induced by internal and external flow through a complex process that is affected by numerous
factors such as the piping geometry, flow conditions and fluid properties.
Wellhead choke valves are commonly used to control the flow of fluids from the reservoir. During
production, significant noise is produced by the flow as it passes through the choke. The noise is
broadband in nature and can be described as pressure pulsations with frequencies over a large
range (1-20 kHz). The subsequent vibration levels can become significant when the pressure pulsations match with a certain acoustic or mechanical resonance mode of the production piping and can
lead to an increased risk of failure of nearby equipment.
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The paper describes a method to examine the mechanical loads on nearby equipment due to the vibrations induced by the usage of a wellhead choke by the means of Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) simulations and Finite Element Modeling (FEM). Numerical experiments were performed on a generic piping system consisting of standard pipes and bends as well as a fictive ensemble of
sensor block and choke valve to explore: 1) the acoustic eigenmodes of the piping, 2) the mechanical eigenmodes of the piping and equipment, and 3) the resulting mechanical loads on the subsea
equipment.
It is shown that typical frequencies characteristic of noise related fatigue are such that the number of cycles, easily reaching 1010 within a few months, can be regarded as the primary source instead
of the maximum stress levels. Some aspects are not considered in the current approach, such as the effect of the medium and the surroundings. These will lead to slightly lower cyclic stress
estimates, and therefore do not invalidate the presented method as a worst case estimation of noise induced vibrational stresses.

Introduction
In gas production, transition from the subsea well pressures to the productionline pressures usually requires a substantial pressure drop. This is in particular the case for
new wells when the bottom-hole pressure is still high. This transition is achieved by a choke module in a subsea template. The amount of energy dissipated at the choke can
be enormous. The pressure drop p [Pa] times the volume flow Q [m 3 /s] is the power P [W] dissipated at this location:

P = p Q

(1)

Most of this power is dissipated as heat, carried off downstream with the flow. The length and time scales of the dissipation are small, nearly molecular, in scale. However, a
small portion of the power is coherent and produced as sound or pressure oscillations (L. Vr and L.L. Beranek, 2006). With the typical power P in terms of megawatts the
sound can be several hundreds to thousand of watts. Given the rigid steel structure of a subsea template, without substantial damping, the sound power level (SPL) can
cause vibrations associated with the mechanical resonances of the template, which yield unwanted, high cyclic stresses. These cyclic stresses are a source of mechanical
failure. The combination of the stress levels and the high frequencies, typical of choke-valve noise, can present a serious danger for failure. An estimation of these stresses
and frequencies, and the associated risks in the design stage can help to avoid unnecessary failures.
In this paper a straightforward approach to estimating the occurring peak stress and frequency combinations is given. The approach contains four major steps: 1) analysis of
the sound power source, 2) analysis of the mechanical eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes, 3) locating the peak stresses associated with these frequencies, and 4) the
matching of the force applied by the sound pressure fields with the mode shapes of the mechanical eigenmodes. The paper is organized around these four steps in the full
analysis.
As an example, a generic piece of piping from the choke block to a connector footer is modelled with a side-branch and an instrument block attached to this pipe (see Figure
4). The added components will illustrate the typical acoustical and mechanical aspects of the vibrational problem. The side branch may have a resonance associated with it,
which can generate large forces due to the high pressure oscillations associated with a resonance. The pressure level can be tenfold - those in the header. Furthermore,
side-branches tend to vibrate more, with high peak stresses at the welds between the header and side branch. The instrument block is a large mass downstream. Its effects
are mainly mechanical; at low frequencies it will play a central role in decreasing the frequencies in a global motion, where the block will swing from side to side. At higher
frequencies, the vibrations of the pipe, in typical waves propagating up and down the pipe, are caused by reflection of the mechanical vibrations from the instrument block.
Therefore, for lower frequencies, the vibrational eigenmodes are global while at higher frequencies the modes are more local, sandwiched between the masses in the
system such as instrument and choke blocks or flanges (Blevins, 2001). The number of mechanical vibrations increases with the frequency. At frequencies up to 100 Hz there
are a limited number of modes, which can be analysed and dealt with one-by-one. Above 10,000 Hz, the modal spectrum is dense, such that the energy in this frequency
range is no longer carried by single modes, but is dispersed over more modes, yielding typically lower peak stresses. The intermediate range of 500 5,000 Hz is the most
troublesome for vibrational analysis. There are a substantial number of modes, however, each with its own characteristics, peak stresses and coupling to the sound waves.
One of the most troublesome phenomenon is the onset of transverse acoustical waves in the pipe at 500-1,500 Hz. The threshold frequency is given by Eq. 2:

(2)
where D is the diameter [m] and c is the velocity-of-sound [m/s]
These acoustical waves have pressure variations across the pipe and they can excite flexural modes of the pipe wall. The plane wave itself, below the onset of transverse
modes, is more likely excited by either the global motion, due to bends and branches, or the breathing mode of the pipe wall.
The noise spectrum depends on the geometry of the choke L choke in combination with the velocity-of-sound c, and the flow regime, i.e., subsonic, transonic and supersonic.
The peak p Hz of the broad noise spectrum lies at the sonic scale:

(3)
The threshold and fall-off with frequency can be derived from the general principles of turbulent noise production. Consequently, the width of the broadband noise is
proportional to the peak frequency. For the matching of vibrational mechanical modes with noise pressure waves, the noise frequencies are typically higher than the
dangerous mechanical eigenfrequencies. The matching between pressure source and mechanical vibration is the intermediate frequency region with the rising flank of the
noise spectrum, the decreasing excitation of individual mechanical resonances due to the spectral density of eigenmodes and the limited overlap between the motion and
the pressure force of each mode.
In the subsequent sections the different aspects are handled in detail. The different regimes in frequency and mode shapes are explained. The global results arises from the
careful matching of each of the components from noise source to local cyclic stresses.

Sound power source

Turbulent noise production is the transmutation of local pressure variations in unstable flow to acoustical pressure waves which freely propagate downstream in piping. The
understanding of such noise spectra is partly theoretical, however, mainly phenomenological based on experiments. Typically, one would say that about 1 in 10,000 of the
power associated with choking flow is converted to noise. Reethof and Ward (1986) provide a generic formula for the power per octave band. In terms of power per
frequency, i.e., the unit of Watt*second the broadband power spectrum is:

(4)
Note the overall dimension of p/[W*s]; in most documentation the dimension of SPL [dB] is P[W] and the corresponding power density is dln() = df/. For a match with
mechanical vibrations, this unit is less appropriate.
The peak frequency p depends on flow, pressure and choke geometry. There are IEC and ANSI standards to derive this peak frequency and the sound power. The power is
a direct result of flow and pressure difference across the choke. At low frequencies the power drops with the third power of the frequency. For the generation of mechanical
vibration the rising slope is the most relevant part: [< p]

(5)
Depending on the layout of the piping, a substantial part of the power is transferred downstream. The transfer across the pipe wall as sound is determined by the
impedance matching of the fluid media and the pipe. In the case of pipe vibrations and specific mechanical modes in the pipe wall, the actual oscillating force caused by the
sound pressure at different locations has to be applied.

Mechanical vibration
The forced mechanical vibrations, due to pressure oscillations, will typically be much higher if the mechanical system resonates. Hence, an important aspect of the
mechanical analysis is the determination of the eigenfrequencies and the corresponding eigenmodes. At the eigenfrequency the pipe wall can pick up pressure oscillations
with the same or similar frequencies. The band of frequencies, which can drive the resonance, depends on the intrinsic mechanical damping. Typically a damping factor of
= 0.02-0.04 is used. A small damping factor yields a small frequency band around 0 : (1-) 0 < < (1+) 0 with higher peak values. Hence, it is not a priori clear which
damping factor will yield the larger peak values since the lower peak value for the resonance is compensated for by a wider band and more applied pressure force.
The dissipated power is proportional to the square of the amplitude A of the resonance and proportional to the damping factor. The mechanically dissipated power, i.e., the
loss of internal energy E, is given by:

(6)
Where the normalized amplitude A corresponds to the unit of energy E, and = 2, the angular frequency.
In a linear system, the stress is proportional to the amplitude. Therefore, given the power loss per resonance, the peak stresses follow directly from the maximal stress for a
resonance, the amplitude of which is normalized to an energy unit.
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This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in San Antonio, Texas, USA, 8-10 October 2012. Copyright 2012, Society of
Petroleum Engineers

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Mechanical stress
The resonance corresponds to an eigenmode of the undamped mechanical system. Hence, the eigensystem analysis combined with the stress analysis per mode will yield
direct insight into the peak stresses in the system. For a normalized eigenmode i, either in amplitude, i T .M. i = 1, or in energy, 2 ( i T .M. i ) = 1, the maximal local
stress i of that mode can be matched with the power dissipated in the mode. In terms of an amplitude normalized eigenmode, the actual maximal stress max is:

(7)
If all sound power in a particular frequency is absorbed by the mechanical resonance and lost as damping, this power combined with the analysis of the mechanical
eigenmode will immediately yield an upper bound for the maximal stresses. The power is proportional to the square of the amplitude, and the amplitude is again
proportional to stress.

Pressure fields
The transfer from sound power to mechanical motion is through the pressure fields at the pipe wall. Below the onset of transverse waves, the pressure fluctuations
propagate downstream as plane waves. Hence, at low frequencies, the pressures are applied axially symmetric in a straight pipe. The coupling between sound and vibration
in a straight pipe can only be the breathing mode of the pipe, which is typically at higher frequencies. The plane waves can also cause forces on the piping at bends,
branches, diameter transitions and ends. These are all locations where some surface is not perpendicular to the wave propagation direction.
The transverse modes in the intermediate frequency regime are limited in number. Hence, at these frequencies, the pressure waves are still coherent. These coherent
waves can excite global modes in the pipe wall if both frequency and waveform match between pressure and vibration.
At higher frequencies such that five or more different transverse acoustical modes can occur in the pipe, the sound power tends to be distributed. The likelihood of coupling
to specific vibrational modes is less for higher frequencies, since there is both a spread of power in the acoustical and the mechanical modes.

Vibration regimes
Three vibration types can be distinguished, which are illustrated by an example of a 1 m straight 6 Std. pipe clamped at its ends. The vibration shapes are determined by a
linear elastic modal analysis on a Finite Element model of the pipe. At the lower frequency of the vibration range one finds global bending modes of the pipe (Flgge, 1960).
Figure 1displays the first and second bending mode at 400 and 1325 Hz respectively. This eigenmodes can be excited at T-joints, bends, dead ends and diameter changes in
the pipe system. The second type of vibration mode, Figure 2 (a), is the breathing mode' of the pipe found here at 1392 Hz. The third type, Figure 2 (b), is a flexural mode at
2414 Hz. For any pipe length, the modes and frequencies can already be estimated from these results. The longer the pipe, the more dense the eigenmode spectrum is.
omparing with a linear dispersion relation, = c/f, the density () of modes, given the lowest frequency min = c/L due to a fixed length L is:

(8)
for pipes and beams the dispersion is nonlinear, e.g., = (c/) , where typically < 1, such that the density is no longer constant. Moreover, with increasing frequency, the
shear forces at the pipe wall will give a complex dispersion relation, partly accounted for by shell models, such as the Mindlin (2005) theory. Furthermore, for threedimensional pipes, the circumferential or ring modes yield threshold frequencies ring. The axial wavelength z is therefore related to the frequency which traverses many
wave lengths in a short frequency span:

(9)
Hence, at ring the wavelength is infinite for modes with a circumferential mode shape, however, the wavelength decreases rapidly with frequency, with the possibility of
matching both with the wave length and frequency of an acoustical mode. The frequencies reach the 3D regime if the frequency is above a large number of ring modes. In
that case the density of modes approaches:

(10)
analytical expressions for the natural frequencies as a function of the vibration shape are given by Blevins (2001). For example the mode natural frequencies of the first two
bending modes are given by Eqs. (11) and (12):

(11)

(12)
If the relations are applied to the example problem of the straight pipe, one finds the frequencies as denoted in Table 1, for the following input data: = 7850 [kg/m3] for the

material density, E = 2.1?? [P] for Young's modulus and = 0.3[-] for Poisson's ratio,
and t = 7.11 [mm] for the 6" Std pipe of length L = 1 [m]. It can be observed that the
eigenfrequency of the first mode matches well, while the second eigenfrequency deviates. The latter can be explained by the fact that pipe in the FE model is of finite length,
while the analytic expression is valid for a pipe of length of at least 8 time the wavelengths ij . The standard analytic theory does not account for three-dimensional effects
due to comparable axial and radial wavelengths (Midlin, 2006).
Bending mode [#]

n [-]

m [-]

lambda

Blevins Hz

0.039

432

FEM Hz
408

0.158

1727

1325

Table 1

Comparison of the natural frequencies of the first and second bending mode of a 6" Std. pipe
section of unit length

Figure 1a

Figure 1b

Figure 2a

Figure 2b

Example of vibration type 1, first bending mode of the

pipe

Example of vibration type 2: breathing mode of the pipe

Example of vibration type 1, second bending mode of the

pipe

Example of vibration type 2: flexural mode n=3, m=4

Moreover, the three types of mechanical modes each have their own source of excitation. The axially symmetric breathing mode can only be excited by the plane wave.
However, there is a mismatch in acoustical and mechanical frequencies. The bending mode is excited by the first transverse mode. In the lower frequencies this mode may
dominate the mechanical vibrations due to the direct coupling. The flexural modes can be excited by the higher transverse modes. Both the acoustical and the mechanical
frequencies are typically above a few thousand Hertz. The spectral density is large in this range, such that the excitation of a single mechanical mode is less likely. The
bending modes have another source of excitation, via the geometry. Due to bends, joints, and diameter transitions the plane wave can exert forces on the pipe wall. The
vibrations associated with these forces are commonly bending motion.
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Mode matching
Mode matching is the process of determining the actual response in terms of stresses in the pipe
system. Mode matching is done in three steps, 4-6, that are explained by means of the flow chart in
Figure 3. The heart of mode matching is a harmonic response analysis in which the structural
response of the pipe system is determined when it is subjected to an acoustic pressure field. The
harmonic response analysis is superseded by the selection of cases that will be simulated. The
selection is based on two criteria: the first is based on the results from the acoustic analysis of the
pipe system, i.e., the acoustic fields which either show large pressure levels or a shape that fits a
particular eigenmode of the system well, as described in the section on pressure fields in this
paper. The second criterion is based on selecting those vibration modes that show high stresses.
This step is performed by computing the corresponding stress field for each eigenmode and
determining the location of the maximum stress. This usually is the location where welds are
present or where there is a large stiffness change in the system. Once the cases have been
selected for either mechanical or acoustical reasons, a harmonic response calculation is
performed. This analysis determines the structural response in terms of stresses or vibration
levels, due to an applied pressure field. For each selected case, the frequency response is
determined within a +/- 20% bandwidth of the selected frequency. If the case was selected based
on the stress criteria, an acoustic pressure field at that same frequency is used to excite the
mechanical model. The harmonic response analysis can be performed with a dedicated tool for
structural analysis, for example, with general purpose FE software like Ansys. Since the applied
pressure field used in the analysis was due to a unit source, the stress results must still be scaled
with the acoustic source strength. The application of the mode matching and the scaling will be
illustrated by the example in the next section.

Example
The presented methodology is demonstrated by an example of a simplified subsea manifold. The
layout of the system is presented first, after which the different steps in the procedure, Figure 3,
are applied to the system and results are presented and interpreted.

Figure 3

Scheme of the analysis process including the mode matching; the

bricks in blue can be performed by dedicated tools

The subsea manifold

For the example, a typical section from a subsea manifold is taken. The system contains a choke block, generating the broadband noise, three 6 pipe sections and four 90
bends and a block containing equipment for, e.g., sand detection or MEG injection, etc. The system is mounted in a frame, which for reasons of simplicity is not modelled
because of the assumption that it is much stiffer than the pipe system itself and can therefore be replaced by applying fixed supporting at the choke and footer. The
dimensions of the system are illustrated in Figure 4. A rendered 3D illustration of the example model can be seen in Figure 5. Note that the effects of seawater are not
considered in this example. Furthermore, the system is made of duplex steel with material properties p = 7850 [kg/m3], E = 2.1??11[P] and = 0.3 [] for the material
density, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio respectively. For the piping, 6 Std. piping is taken with an outer diameter of D 0 = 0.1682 [m] and a thickness of t = 7.11 [mm].
The medium in the system is a typical well stream with the following relevant acoustic properties p = 10 [kg/m3] and speed of sound c = 500 [m/s]. The acoustic power at the
choke module is P ac = 1000 [Watt] with a peak in the pressure wave power spectrum at p = 2000 [Hz]. The waves propagate according to the Helmholtz wave equation.

Figure 4

Characteristic lengths of the model

Figure 5a

3D plot of the model

Figure 5b

Finite element grid of the model

Acoustic analysis
The pressure fields from the noise source are calculated with COMSOL frequency by frequency. The source is considered a pressure oscillation with a unit amplitude. The
downstream boundary condition is a matching impedance, such that no reflection occurs. The scaling to the actual values can be done afterwards when the total path from
noise source to peak stresses is determined. In the selection of acoustical modes for detailed study, a number of aspects and questions are important. First, are there large
peak pressures, as these are associated with resonances where a wave is confined in a pipe section and travels up and down and is reflected at the ends with resulting
large oscillating forces (see Figure 6 (a))? Second, are the pressure differences across the pipe associated with transverse mode and forces perpendicular to the pipe axis
(see Figure 6 (b))? Third, are there some local peak pressures and non-random pressure fields at higher frequencies which may result in localized forces (see Figure 6 (c))?
Any of these cases may lead to large vibrations. They are included in the detailed analysis, where the pressure field is matched with the mechanical system.

Figure 6a

The pressure field at 860 Hz, where a resonance

appears between the choke valve and the side
branch. This pressure field may induce global motion
and bending modes in the pipes.

Figure 6b

The pressure field at 2,890 Hz with

pressure variation across the pipe,
yielding perpendicular forces.

Figure 6c

The pressure field at the wall at 3,010 Hz with

localized peaks and higher levels at the bends.
Such a mode may excite flexural mechanical
modes

Modal and stress analysis

A finite element model of the system is created in order to determine the natural frequencies of the system and compute the corresponding stress fields. The model is
created in Ansys R14 and consists of linear elastic shell elements for the pipe sections and elbows, and linear elastic solids for the choke block, flanges and the equipment
block (see Fig. 5).
The model is used to extract all the eigenfrequencies below a threshold of 4,000 Hz. This threshold is
double the peak frequency in the acoustic power spectrum from the choke. Frequencies above the
threshold are not considered important for the mechanical response in the system. Figure 7 graphically
shows all 309 modes which are found below the threshold. From the graph, the three vibration regimes
can be distinguished, each with their own modal density. The first regime runs from up to the 30th
eigenmode; the modes in this regime are global bending modes, an example of which is illustrated in
Figure 8 (a). The second regime, runs from mode 30 to mode number 120. In this intermediate regime,
more localized vibration modes can occur (see Figure 8 (b)). In the third regime, the vibration becomes
even more local (illustrated in Figure 8 (c)), where only the pipe between the choke and the side branch
vibrates.
Stresses are also extracted from the modal analysis. Figure 9 shows the normalized maximum cyclic
stresses for each eigenmode. Since the modes are normalized, they can be used for comparison, but
note that the absolute stress level does not have a realistic value yet. An illustration of such a stress
shape is depicted in .

Figure 8a

Mode shape 3 at 16.2 Hz, an example of a

global bending mode.

Figure 8b

Mode shape 63 at 1020 Hz, an example of a

mode in the intermediate regime, where
global bending modes couple with local
flexural modes

Figure 8c

Figure 7

Natural frequencies in the system. Transitions at 600 Hz and 2000 Hz

are clearly visible. The spectrum becomes more dense as the
frequency increases

Mode shape 165 at 2253 Hz, an example of a

flexural mode in the 3rd regime, where it can
be observed that the side branch acts as a
barrier mass since the pipe after the side
branch does not participate in the vibration

Figure 9

Maximum cyclic stress for each eigenmode; peaks of modes used in the mode matching have
been indicated by red circles

Figure 10

Stress field associated with mode 197 at 2582

Hz, the maximum stress is found at the

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Mode matching
Now that the acoustic and mechanical behavior of the system have been explored, the modes can be matched to each other. For the example choke module, the cases from
Table 2 have been selected; the table presents the frequency at which the acoustic or mechanical resonance occurs as well as the selection criterion used for the case.
For each case, a harmonic response analysis is performed within a band of +/- 20% of the center frequency. For each case, the typical range is stepped through with a
frequency step of typically 5 Hz, which is roughly equal to the modal density of the system. At each frequency, the results are inspected for the maximum occurring stress
and acceleration in the model. Those results are then scaled with the strength of the source and are accumulated into a frequency response spectrum (see Figure 11).
The above method considers the maximal stresses anywhere in the pipe system. A more local approach is feasible within the same analysis framework. One could for
example apply a submodelling technique on a detail in the pipe system such as a T-joint, and use a hot spot stress method to assess the stress levels at a weld present in
that detail. If the submodel has already been applied in the modal analysis, one can suffice by scaling and adding the computed structural hot spot stresses for each
eigenmode to the mode participation factors, as computed in a mode superposition harmonic response analysis.
Case Id [-]

Center freq. Hz

Criterion

470

acoustic

770

acoustic

1010

acoustic

1190

mechanical

2050

acoustic

2310

mechanical

2570

mechanical

3010

mechanical

3830

mechanical

Remarks

Table 2

Selected acoustic and mechanical cases for the mode matching

Figure 11

Frequency response of the maximum cyclic stresses in the system

Conclusion
Valve noise as the source of vibration is a complex problem (Blevins, 1990). A simple approach to estimating the cyclic stresses is presented in this paper. From the power
dissipated at the valve, the conversion to noise, the peak frequency of the noise, the pressure fields at the wall, the mechanical eigenmodes and the stresses associated with
these eigenmodes, a conservative estimate for the stress levels arises. At low frequencies, a more exact method may be used, while at higher frequencies, one can resort to
statistical methods. The method is meant specifically for the intermediate frequencies, where the avoidance of mechanical resonances is not feasible and the averaging
over modes is not possible.
In particular, the eigenmode analysis allows one to inspect high stresses due to localized eigenmodes and stress intensification in the design. Rather than a large, practically
infeasible calculation of the flow structure interaction, the method separates the problem into parts, for which dedicated tools and guidelines are available.
The typical frequencies of noise related fatigue are such that the number of cycles, which can quickly accumulate to 1010 in a couple of months, can be seen as the source,
rather than the maximal stress levels. This makes the problem one of the more intangible ones of subsea template design. Some aspects are not considered in the current
approach, such as the effect of the medium and the surroundings. These will lead to slightly lower cyclic stress estimates and will therefore not invalidate the presented
method as a worst case estimation of noise induced vibrational stresses.

References
[1] L. Vr and L.L. Beranek, Noise and vibration control engineering, Wiley, 2006
[2] Formulas for natural frequency and mode shape, R.D. Blevins, Krieger Pub. 2001
[3] G. Reethof and W.C. Ward, A Theoretically Based Valve Noise Prediction Method for Compressible Fluids, Journal of Vibration, Acoustics, Stress, and Reliability in Design,
1986, vol.108 p.329
[4] W. Flgge, Springer, Stresses in Shells, Berlin, 1960
[5] R.D. Mindlin, An introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Vibrations of Elastical Paltes, 2006, World Scientific
[6] Flow-Induced Vibration, Robert D. Blevins, Van Nostrand, 2nd editition 1990