Numerical simulation on the effectiveness of using viscoelastic materials to mitigate seismic induced vibrations of above-ground pipelines

Abstract Pipeline systems are commonly used to transport oil, natural gas, water, sewage and other materials. They are normally regarded as important lifeline structures. Ensuring the safety of these pipeline systems is crucial to the economy and environment. There are many reasons that may result in the damages to pipelines and these damages are often associated with pipeline vibrations. Therefore it is important to control pipeline vibrations to reduce the possibility of catastrophic damages. This paper carries out numerical investigations on the effectiveness of using viscoelastic materials to mitigate the seismic induced vibrations of above-ground pipelines. The numerical analyses are carried out by using the commercial software package ANSYS. The numerical model of the viscoelastic material is firstly calibrated based on the experimental data obtained from vibration tests of a 1.6 m long tubular sandwich structure. The calibrated material model is then applied to the above-ground pipeline system. The effectiveness of using viscoelastic materials as the seismic vibration control solution is investigated. The influences of various parameters, including the constraining arrangement scenarios, the constraining length and angle, the thicknesses of the viscoelastic material and constraining layer are discussed in detail. The influence of earthquake frequency content is discussed as well. Numerical results show that with properly selected viscoelastic materials and constraining layers, the proposed method can be used to effectively mitigate seismic induced vibrations of above-ground pipelines.

[1]  Graham H. Powell.  Seismic response analysis of above‐ground pipelines , 1978 .

[2]  E. Kerwin.  Damping of Flexural Waves by a Constrained Viscoelastic Layer , 1959 .

[3]  K. Menard.  Dynamic Mechanical Analysis: A Practical Introduction , 1997 .

[4]  John L. Wilson,et al.  Development of passive viscoelastic damper to attenuate excessive floor vibrations , 2011 .

[5]  Anders Ågren,et al.  Development of a new damper to reduce resonant vibrations in lightweight steel joist floors , 2002 .

[6]  T. T. Soong,et al.  Supplemental energy dissipation: state-of-the-art and state-of-the- practice , 2002 .

[7]  Ernesto Salzano,et al.  Seismic vulnerability of gas and liquid buried pipelines , 2014 .

[8]  Ernesto Salzano,et al.  Seismic damage to pipelines in the framework of Na-Tech risk assessment , 2015 .

[9]  James C. Anderson,et al.  Seismic behaviour of above‐ground oil pipelines , 1974 .

[10]  Shelley E. McDonald,et al.  Failure modes and mechanisms in gray cast iron pipe , 2001 .

[11]  Hossein Khalilpasha,et al.  Textured deep subsea pipelines , 2013 .

[12]  Hong Hao,et al.  Using pipe-in-pipe systems for subsea pipeline vibration control , 2016 .

[13]  Lien-Wen Chen,et al.  Finite element dynamic analysis of orthotropic cylindrical shells with a constrained damping layer , 2004 .

[14]  Massimo Ruzzene,et al.  NATURAL FREQUENCIES AND DAMPINGS IDENTIFICATION USING WAVELET TRANSFORM: APPLICATION TO REAL DATA , 1997 .

[15]  Jinkoo Kim,et al.  Vibration tests of 5-storey steel frame with viscoelastic dampers , 2004 .

[16]  Carlos Magluta,et al.  A concept to reduce vibrations in steel catenary risers by the use of viscoelastic materials , 2014 .

[17]  T. Shimogo.  Vibration Damping , 1994, Active and Passive Vibration Damping.

[18]  A. Kiureghian.  Structural Response to Stationary Excitation , 1980 .

[19]  J. D. Hart,et al.  Implementation of Tuned Vibration Absorbers for Above Ground Pipeline Vibration Control , 2000 .

[20]  Lindita Kellezi.  Dynamic Soil-Structure-Interaction , 1998 .

[21]  Farid Taheri,et al.  Bending capacity of sandwich pipes , 2012 .

[22]  H. O. Soliman,et al.  Response of overground pipelines to random ground motion , 1996 .

[23]  Hong Hao,et al.  Integrated ARMA model method for damage detection of subsea pipeline system , 2013 .

[24]  Raghavan A. Kumar,et al.  Passive Control of Vortex-Induced Vibrations: An Overview , 2008 .

[25]  H. Tajimi,et al.  Statistical Method of Determining the Maximum Response of Building Structure During an Earthquake , 1960 .

[26]  Hong Hao,et al.  Modelling and simulation of spatially varying earthquake ground motions at sites with varying conditions , 2012 .

[27]  Lin-Hung Chen,et al.  Vibrations of a cylindrical shell with partially constrained layer damping (CLD) treatment , 1999 .

[28]  Bijan Samali,et al.  Use of viscoelastic dampers in reducing wind- and earthquake-induced motion of building structures , 1995 .