Fluctuating Forces in U-Tubes Subjected to Internal Two-Phase Flow
Severe in-plane vibrations were observed in a series of 20-mm dia. PVC vertical U-tubes of different elbow geometries subjected to air-water internal flow. An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the excitation mechanism. Vibration response, excitation forces and fluctuating properties of two-phase flow were measured over a wide range of flow conditions. The experimental results show that the observed vibrations are due to a resonance phenomenon between periodic momentum flux fluctuations of two-phase flow and the first modes of U-tubes. The excitation forces consist of a combination of narrow-band and periodic components, with a predominant frequency that increases proportionally to flow velocity. For a given void fraction, the force spectra for various flow velocities and elbow geometries coincide generally well on a plot of the normalized power spectral density as a function of a dimensionless frequency. The predominant frequencies of excitation agree with recent results on the characteristics of periodic structures in two-phase flow.