Appendix C.

Piping Vibration Guidelines

Contents Page

C1.0 Introduction C-2

C2.0 Historical Problem Areas C-2
C2.1 Periodic Flow Forces Caused by Reciprocating Equipment
C2.2 Unbalanced Machinery
C2.3 Control Valves
C2.4 Pressure Letdown Valves
C2.5 Vortex Shedding
C2.6 Two-Phase Slug Flow (Gas/Liquid)
C2.7 High Velocity Turbulence
C3.0 Metal Fatigue C-4
C3.1 Cyclic Stress Allowances
C3.2 Stress Concentrations
C3.3 Temperature
C3.4 Corrosion
C4.0 Design Guidelines C-6
C4.1 Reciprocating Equipment
C4.2 Appurtenances (Vents and Drains, Instrument Connections)
C4.3 Control Valves
C4.4 Pressure Letdown Valves
C4.5 Vortex Shedding (Thermowells only)
C4.6 Two-Phase Slug Flow (Gas/Liquid)
C4.7 General Flow-Induced Vibration
C5.0 Operating Guidelines C-11
C6.0 References C-13
C7.0 Attachment A: Vibration Analysis of Stiff Appurtenances with
Multiple Valves or Fittings C-14

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Appendix C Piping Manual

C1.0 Introduction
Many piping systems in operating facilities vibrate—a few to the point of fatigue
failure. Avoiding fatigue failures depends both on design and on recognition and
correction of hazardous situations during operation. Most fatigue failures are caused
by resonance; that is, the close matching of the natural frequency of a piping span
with the frequency of one of the excitation forces in the system. Pipe span frequen-
cies are predictable, whereas some forcing frequencies are not. Therefore, while
resonant fatigue failures can be avoided by design in some cases, field recognition is
required in others.
This appendix consolidates piping fatigue information, provides design guidance to
avoid fatigue failures, and presents vibration amplitude criteria for the evaluation of
existing vibrating piping.

C2.0 Historical Problem Areas

Piping vibration is most often associated with reciprocating equipment. Recipro-
cating compressors and pumps produce periodic flow surging at low frequencies (a
few cycles per second) that can cause resonant piping vibrations at small multiples
of that frequency. Piping vibration has also been associated with machinery unbal-
ance, control valves, pressure letdown devices, vortex shedding, and two-phase slug
flow. These sources of vibration, their predictability, and their significance are the
subjects of the following discussion.

C2.1 Periodic Flow Forces Caused by Reciprocating Equipment

The suction and discharge piping of reciprocating compressor and pump installa-
tions are subject to severe piping vibration problems, as attested by Company and
industry experience. The potential problems are numerous and cannot be reliably
designed out using simple rules. Computer simulation is recommended for the
design of all new reciprocating compressor installations (see Section C4.0, Design
Guidelines).
Most pipe vibrations near reciprocating equipment are excited by periodic flow
surging (accelerating/decelerating flow). Flow surges exert forces as follows:
• At elbows—in the plane of the elbow and in a direction that bisects the angle of
the elbow
• At piping components where the flow area changes—in the axial direction of
the component.
Flow surges from reciprocating pumps and compressors involve significant amounts
of energy. They can cause resonant pipe vibrations by reinforcing the natural pipe
motion every first, second or third cycle. In large systems, particularly with vapors,
flow surges from the pump or compressor may excite acoustic resonance (e.g.,
“standing waves” between points of area change or in a capped header) that ampli-
fies flow surges and permits mechanical pipe resonance at higher multiples of the
pump or compressor frequency.

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Piping Manual Appendix C

C2.2 Unbalanced Machinery

Unbalanced machinery forces vibrate the machinery case and connected piping.
Typical displacement amplitudes of well balanced machinery are less than one mil
(0.001 inch). This introduces negligible stresses in connected pipe runs. One mil
pipe vibration, however, is more than enough to cause fatigue failure of connected
appurtenances in resonance with the pipe motion. For example, if a Schedule 80
nipple 1½ inches in diameter and 8 inches long were used to support a typical
Class 1500 valve, it would have a natural frequency of approximately 60 Hz and
would be expected to resonate to failure if it were connected to piping near a
3600 RPM centrifugal pump (even if the pump were well balanced). Such a
problem is predictable and can be avoided by appropriate appurtenance design.
Unbalanced machinery forces during abnormal operating conditions (e.g., equip-
ment failure or inadvertent liquid condensation in a compressor cylinder) may result
in high impact loads. This can cause an appurtenance to resonate as if struck with a
mallet. A single incident may initiate and propagate a crack such that subsequent
normal operating stress cycles exceed the endurance limit and cause failure. Situa-
tions that crack piping are usually unpredictable, but are so severe that they are
unlikely to escape notice.

C2.3 Control Valves

Periodic flow surges that cause pipe vibration can be created by inappropriately
designed control valves. Undersized actuators can cause the valve plug to flutter.
Oversized valves may tend to chatter if operated near shutoff. Almost all piping
vibration problems associated with control valves are related to valve design or
application errors.

C2.4 Pressure Letdown Valves

Unanchored pressure letdown valves in cavitating service have also been known to
cause unacceptable piping vibration. Cavitation forces act over a broad spectrum of
frequencies. These forces cause the adjacent piping to vibrate (primarily at their
natural frequency). In some cases, the cavitation forces will modulate with the
piping motion, increasing the vibration amplitude.

C2.5 Vortex Shedding

Various low velocity flow instabilities can cause piping vibration. Of these, vortex
shedding of a single cylinder in crossflow is the most well known. Vortex shedding
is known to have damaged stacks, columns and the long, rigidly supported grout
lines temporarily installed on offshore platforms. These examples can be character-
ized by their exposure to wind and the presence of rigid supports, which reduce
damping.
Vortex shedding has also caused resonant failures of long, slender thermowell
stems. In all cases, the natural frequency of the thermowell stem was found to be
close to the vortex shedding frequency.

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Appendix C Piping Manual

In the case of onshore plant piping, no fatigue failures due to wind are known to
have occurred. Because of relatively low wind exposure and high damping provided
by sliding supports none are expected to occur.

C2.6 Two-Phase Slug Flow (Gas/Liquid)

Two-phase slug flow usually occurs in piping systems designed for peak operating
flow rates that are much higher than those during normal operation (i.e., oil field
flow lines). The low fluid velocity during normal operation results in slug flow. As
with flow surges, two-phase slugging exerts cyclic forces at piping elbows and
points of flow area change, causing the piping system to vibrate. In some cases the
motion of the piping system (primarily at its natural frequency) influences the pres-
sure fluctuations inside the pipe to such an extent that the slugging frequency locks
into the piping system’s natural frequency and amplifies the vibration.
In most cases the piping vibration amplitudes resulting from two-phase slug flow
are not large enough to cause a fatigue failure. Usually the slugging forces are low,
the piping system damping is high, and the piping system natural frequencies are far
away from the slugging frequency range.

C2.7 High Velocity Turbulence

High velocity turbulence can produce pressure pulsations throughout the audible
frequency range. The resulting periodic unbalanced forces on the piping are insig-
nificant insofar as piping fatigue is concerned. However, high velocities can cause
severe noise problems, particularly in valves with a large pressure drop.

C3.0 Metal Fatigue

Metal fatigue is the process of crack initiation and crack growth that occurs under
cyclic loading when the maximum stress is below the ultimate strength and above
the endurance limit. The endurance limit is the maximum stress that will give an
infinite fatigue life. Fatigue cracks are usually initiated at surface discontinuities or
imperfections that result in local stress concentrations. They grow by a small
amount with each cycle. Typical surface discontinuities and imperfections are thread
grooves, section changes, weld toes, and weld defects. Fatigue life is the number of
cycles needed to initiate and propagate the crack to a point of failure, and varies
from one-quarter cycle at the ultimate stress to an infinite number of cycles at the
endurance limit. Fatigue life varies with material, environmental conditions, surface
condition, and geometry, as well as with nominal stress level.

C3.1 Cyclic Stress Allowances

Most failures due to fatigue in piping and process equipment occur at welds. The
American Welding Society (AWS) design fatigue curve for full penetration
buttwelded carbon steel is shown in Figure C-1. This curve is known as the
AWS X-curve. It is a design curve; therefore, it contains an appropriate factor of
safety for full penetration buttwelds with no significant fixed stress concentration

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Piping Manual Appendix C

due to geometry (i.e., butt-welded pipe). For base metal away from welds and heat-
affected zones, the fatigue design curves given in Section VIII, Division 2 of the
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code can be used. Be careful, since the
AWS X-curve is based on stress range and the ASME Code curves are based on
stress amplitude. Stress amplitude is half of stress range.

Fig. C-1 Design Fatigue Curve

To ensure adequate life of components subjected to cyclic loads, the resulting cyclic
stresses must be kept below the component material’s endurance limit. Most fatigue
curves become asymptotic somewhere between 106 and 108 cycles. The asymptote
stress value is the endurance limit. It should be noted that some materials do not
have an endurance limit. The cyclic stress amplitude that will cause failure
continues to decrease for increasing cycle life. From Figure C-1, the endurance limit
for buttwelded carbon steel is 9.0 ksi (stress range). For 3XX or 4XX series stain-
less steel an allowable stress range of 18.0 ksi should be used. Fatigue curves for
low alloy steels indicate only a slight improvement in high cycle fatigue resistance
relative to carbon steel. For practical purposes, low alloy and carbon steels are
considered to have equal fatigue resistance.

C3.2 Stress Concentrations

Cyclic load tests with commonly-used welded pipe fitting and branch reinforce-
ment details have yielded fatigue curves that more or less parallel the AWS X-curve
shown in Figure C-1. Since actual stress distributions in pipe fittings are complex

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Appendix C Piping Manual

and most piping is made of buttwelded pipe, fitting fatigue data is conveniently
presented as the ratio of nominal bending stress in the pipe for fatigue failure of the
fitting, to nominal bending stress in the pipe for fatigue failure of a butt-weld. This
ratio is called the stress intensification factor (i) and is given in the ANSI/ASME
B31.3, Appendix D, Flexibility and Stress Intensification Factors. Similar tables can
be found in most other piping codes. The stress intensification factor accounts for
geometry effects and, therefore, applies to any material.
It should be noted that the data given in the piping code indicates that a significant
improvement in fatigue resistance can be obtained by covering all the threads in a
threaded connection with weld metal. The stress intensification factor at the root of
a normal pipe thread is about 3.6 relative to buttwelded pipe.

C3.3 Temperature
Endurance limits for ferrite materials vary slightly with temperature in the range of
interest. They are essentially constant between 0°F and 300°F, increase to a
maximum at about 600°F, and then decline. For present purposes, the endurance
limit determined at room temperature may be considered constant up to 750°F for
carbon steel and 800°F for stainless steel. Above these temperatures endurance
limits drop rapidly and the designer must take this into consideration. CRTC’s
Materials and Equipment Engineering can provide assistance in this area.

C3.4 Corrosion
Fatigue data discussed above applies to noncorrosive environments. A material's
endurance limit can be greatly reduced by aggressive environments and component
stresses can be increased by metal loss due to corrosion. The designer must account
for these considerations. CRTC’s Materials and Equipment Engineering can provide
assistance in this area also.

C4.0 Design Guidelines

C4.1 Reciprocating Equipment

The use of computer simulation is recommended in designing all new reciprocating
compressor installations. The potential piping problems in such systems are
numerous and cannot be reliably designed out using simple rules. Reciprocating
pumps can introduce all of the same vibration problems as reciprocating compres-
sors. Computer simulation is also applicable to reciprocating pump installations.
CRTC’s Materials and Equipment Engineering, Machinery Staff can recommend
qualified vendors and make the required arrangements.
Several fatigue failures have occurred in small, poorly supported piping connected
to reciprocating metering pumps. These failures can be avoided by supporting the
piping so that the natural frequency of each span is much higher (e.g., 5+ times)

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Piping Manual Appendix C

than the pulsating flow frequency. Flow frequencies are readily determined. For a
double-acting, single cylinder machine, the pulsating flow frequency is twice the
shaft rotation speed. Natural frequencies of various pipe spans can be calculated
using the formulas given in Figure C-2, or using the dynamic capabilities of the
piping analysis computer programs currently available.
Metering pump piping configurations that have failed are also shown in Figure C-2.
With pulsating flow, the horizontal legs of these spans tend to oscillate axially
because of imbalanced flow forces at the elbows. If the natural frequency of the pipe
span is close to the first or second multiple of the pump frequency, fatigue failure is
probable. Whether third and fourth multiples of the pump frequency are important
or not is uncertain. There is little incentive, however, for designing metering pump
piping with natural frequencies of the same order of magnitude as the pump
frequency. For example, adding a single pipe support to restrain axial motion of the
horizontal leg (Sheet 2, Figure C-2) would typically increase the natural frequency
of the piping by a factor of 10 to 20 and eliminate the possibility of fatigue failure.
Adding restraints to reduce vibration amplitude may cause overstressing from
thermal expansion. This problem can be avoided by first performing a thermal anal-
ysis of the piping system to determine points on the system that have zero displace-
ment in a particular direction due to thermal expansion (null points). Restraints or
guides can be added at null points to prevent movement in directions of zero
thermal movement without affecting the thermal expansion of the piping system.
If the required restraint cannot be placed at the null point, assume a position as close
as possible and repeat the thermal analysis and natural frequency calculation. This
process should be repeated until it can be shown that the piping system has adequate
flexibility for thermal expansion and the required stiffness to prevent vibration.

C4.2 Appurtenances (Vents and Drains, Instrument Connections)

Resonance and abnormal impact load conditions have caused the failures of several
appurtenances in high pressure service. Resonant failures of appurtenances can be
avoided by making the connecting nipple short enough to raise the natural
frequency of the appurtenance well above the highest significant exciting frequency
in the system—usually 60 Hz, the normal frequency of centrifugal pumps. Natural
frequencies of appurtenances can be determined from Figure C-2.
Recommended installation details for vent and drain valves are shown in Standard
Drawing GD-L1057. Dimensions of the nipples shown on the drawing result in
natural frequencies in the 200 Hz - 400 Hz range for commonly used high pressure
valves. The welding details shown are intended to minimize stress concentrations
and provide the maximum practical resistance to impact loading. A single block
valve installed per Standard Drawing GD-L1057 is recommended as a high pres-
sure orifice root valve in flange service. The tubing adapter should be installed
directly into the valve.
Stress analysis (see example in Attachment A) is recommended where appurte-
nance weight appears excessive (e.g., additional fittings or valves are attached to
root valves) and the appurtenance is located near rotating equipment. The analysis

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 Fig. C-2 Fundamental Natural Frequencies of Common Piping Spans (1 of 2)
October 1989

Appendix C
C-8
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Piping Manual
 Fig. C-2 Fundamental Natural Frequencies of Common Piping Spans (2 of 2)
Chevron Corporation

Piping Manual
C-9
October 1989

Appendix C
Appendix C Piping Manual

method in Attachment A can be used for any appurtenance: vibration amplitude and
frequency limits are determined so that all stresses are below the material endur-
ance limit. Vibration amplitude and frequency must then be measured during opera-
tion to ensure that the limits are not exceeded.
Low pressure vents and drains are not usually a fatigue problem when valve weights
are small and the supporting nipples are short. Resonant problems would be
expected for nipple lengths of about 12 inches for typical low pressure valves. It is
good practice to use short nipples, approximately 2 inches to 4 inches long.
Potential fatigue failure of instrument leads connected to vibrating piping should
also be considered. Instrument tubing that runs along piping should be banded to the
pipe with stainless steel bands. Use a spring band at the first attachment point after
the root valve. Place a second spring band 4 inches further along and plain bands
every 10 inches thereafter. Instruments should be mounted on stationary supports.
Pressure gages should be oil-filled. Capillary tubing can be used if fluid pulsation is
high. Root valves should be low-mass forged steel angle gage valves and should be
seal welded.

C4.3 Control Valves

Section 900 of the Instrumentation and Control Manual is recommended for sizing
and designing control valves. CRTC’s Process Automation, Instrumentation staff
can provide assistance.

C4.4 Pressure Letdown Valves

In pressure letdown valves cavitation is the most common cause of vibration. When
cavitation cannot be avoided through design the valve should be anchored or provi-
sions made to do so in case piping vibration amplitudes are excessive once the plant
is operating. When restraining a valve, the designer must keep in mind the piping
system flexibility requirements for thermal expansion. In addition, the first elbow
downstream of the pressure letdown valve should be located a minimum of 10
diameters away when possible; the farther the better. This prevents the cavitation
from acting on the elbow. During plant startup, the valve and adjacent piping should
be observed for excessive vibration (see Section C5.0).

C4.5 Vortex Shedding (Thermowells only)

Thermowell stem failures have occurred in the Company due to resonance coinci-
dence of the stem and the vortex shedding frequency. Thermowell stems should be
designed so that their natural frequency (Figure C-2) is at least 1.5 times the vortex
shedding frequency at the maximum expected flow rate.

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Piping Manual Appendix C

The vortex shedding frequency in Hz is given by:

V
f = 0.2 ----
D
(Eq. C-1)
where:
V = fluid velocity, ft/sec
D = thermowell diameter, ft.
This simple formula applies for Reynolds numbers (Re) up to 105, based on V and
D defined above. A more detailed consideration of harmonic vibration in thermow-
ells resulting from vortex shedding is given in the Instrumentation and Control
Manual, Section 600.

C4.6 Two-Phase Slug Flow (Gas/Liquid)

In most cases, two-phase slug flow does not result in excessive piping vibration.
However, slug flow should be avoided when possible. It can be rough on vessel
internals and other equipment even when not detrimental to piping. The Fluid Flow
Manual provides guidance in determining two-phase flow regimes.
When slug flow is unavoidable, it is recommended that the designer configure the
piping system so that anchors and restraints can be added at a later date without
excessive modification of the piping support system. During plant startup, the
piping should be observed for excessive vibration (see Section C5.0).

C4.7 General Flow-Induced Vibration

A variety of flow-induced vibration problems have occurred that are not quantita-
tively understood and cannot be reliably designed out of new systems. Avoiding
fatigue failures in such cases depends on recognition and correction of hazardous
vibrations during operation.

C5.0 Operating Guidelines

Sections C2.0 and C4.0 address the problem areas typically associated with piping
vibration. Once a piping system has been built the preferred solution, regardless of
the cause, is to limit vibration amplitudes so that cyclic stresses are below the
component material endurance limit. This section presents vibration amplitude
criteria and is applicable to all the problem areas discussed in Sections C2.0
and C4.0.
Cyclic stresses are highest where the motion of a vibrating pipe span is restrained.
While large, easily observed displacement amplitudes may be acceptable at points
well removed from an anchor, imperceptible displacements near an anchor can
cause failure. Typical pipe spans require large, clearly visible amplitudes to cause

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Appendix C Piping Manual

fatigue failure. In most cases, visual recognition is likely and expedient assessment
is possible.
To determine cyclic stresses due to vibration, a piping system must be analyzed
using field-measured deflections. We recommend using a piping analysis computer
program such as CAESAR II or AUTOPIPE. CRTC’s Materials and Engineering
can provide assistance. The PC-based CAESAR program is available from Mate-
rials and Equipment Engineering, Standards staff.
For well-defined vibrating systems, such as metering pump installation or a ques-
tionable vibrating pipe span that has been monitored for the full range of expected
operating conditions, the safety factor built into the AWS X-curve is adequate.
However, in most cases, only spot measurements or observations of vibration
displacement will be available, and, in all probability, the observed displacement
will not represent the worst situation. Vibration displacement can be affected by
flow rate and other routine process adjustments. For such cases an additional safety
factor of 2.0 is recommended. Therefore, design endurance limits based on the AWS
X- curve must be reduced by a factor of 2.0.
Most fatigue failures occur within a million cycles of stress above the endurance
limit. Therefore, timely assessment and prompt correction of hazardous situations is
important. Figure C-3 indicates the time required to reach one million cycles at
various vibrating frequencies. Typical piping spans vibrate in the 1 to 10 Hz range.
For continuous vibration with excessive amplitudes, fatigue failures may be
expected within a week's time. If a pipe support fails for some reason (e.g., by
corrosion) and the resulting cyclic stress is approximately equal to twice the design
endurance limit, the support should be fixed within 24 hours. If the cyclic stress is
close to or exceeds four times the design endurance limit, the existence of a growing
fatigue crack is probable and the system should be shut down, the support fixed, and
the piping thoroughly inspected the same day.
Many fatigue failures have occurred after years of operation. Such failures may be
related to a recent change in operating conditions, or a series of routine but infre-
quent operating conditions or transients. The design fatigue curve given in
Figure C-1 can be used to distinguish between infrequent conditions that are
hazardous in the long run and those that are safe. If the new conditions are
hazardous, additional restraints and/or damping devices should be considered.
CRTC Materials and Equipment Engineering should be contacted regarding
damping devices. With respect to additional restraints, the designer must also
consider thermal expansion. As discussed in Section C4.1, to install additional
restraints, a designer should first perform a thermal analysis of the piping system to
determine points on the piping system that have zero deflection due to thermal
expansion in the direction(s) of interest (null points). Restraints or guides can be
added at null points to prevent movement in directions of zero thermal movement
without affecting the thermal expansion of the piping system.

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Piping Manual Appendix C

Fig. C-3 Time to Accumulate One Million Stress Cycles

C6.0 References
1. American Welding Society Structural Welding Code—Steel, Eighth Edition,
1984.
2. ASME Pressure Vessel to Piping Code, Section VIII, Division 2, Appendix 5—
Mandatory Design Based on Fatigue Analysis, 1985 Edition.
3. Shigley, J. E., and L.D. Mitchell, Mechanical Engineering Design, Fourth
Edition, Copyright 1983 by McGraw-Hill, Inc.
4. Welding Research Council Bulletin 107, “Local Stresses in Spherical and
Cylindrical Shells due to External Loadings”, August 1965, by K. R. Wichman,
A. G. Hopper, and J. L. Mershon.
5. Welding Research Council Bulletin 297, “Local Stresses in Cylindrical Shells
due to External Loadings on Nozzels—Supplement to WRC Bulletin No. 107”,
August 1984, by J. L. Mershon, K. Mokhtarian, G. V. Ranjan, and E. C.
Rodabaugh.

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C7.0 Attachment A: Vibration Analysis of Stiff Appurtenances with

Multiple Valves or Fittings
For appurtenances consisting of two or more heavy high pressure valves or fittings
separated by short piping nipples, calculating the natural frequency may be difficult
and might not reveal a potential vibration problem. The following example provides
an analysis method for this situation based on observation following plant startup.

Example
Problem: Two ¾-inch, Class 1500, Y-pattern valves are to be attached at a low
point of a 20-inch diameter pipe as shown in Figure C-4. The pipe contains a two-
phase slug flow mixture of gas oil, and hydrogen. Will piping vibration cause the
appurtenance to fail by fatigue?

Fig. C-4 Example of a Stiff Appurtenance Fig. C-5 Mathematical Model of Figure C-4 Example

Solution: Two-phase slug flow will cause the pipe and appurtenance to vibrate. To
determine criteria for observation after plant startup the appurtenance is modeled as
shown in Figure C-5, where the appurtenance is assumed rigid and the mass of each
valve is slumped at a distance from the appurtenance base corresponding to the
valve center of mass. From basic vibration theory, the amplitude of a sinusoidal
force required to move a lumped mass with an acceleration a is given by:

F = ma
(Eq. C-2)
where:
f = force
m = mass
a = acceleration

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Piping Manual Appendix C

applying a corresponding force to each mass in Figure C-5, the moment at any loca-
tion along the appurtenance can be calculated. The maximum moment, M, occurs at
the base and is equal to:

M = ∑ mi ai li
i=1
(Eq. C-3)
where li is the distance from the center of the mass of mi to the location where the
stress is to be determined (the appurtenance base in this example). The variable ai is
the acceleration amplitude of mi. Substituting values for this example:
M = 18 lb (7.5 in.) (386 in./sec2) a1 +
18 lb (14.0 in.) (386 in./sec2) a2
M = 0.35 a1 + 0.65 a2
Note that the mass of a component is its weight divided by the acceleration due to
gravity, 386 in./sec.2 when using units of inches and seconds. The cycle stress at the
base is:

∑ mi ai li
SM S
σ a = --------- = ---
Z Z
i=1
(Eq. C-4)
where σa is the calculated stress amplitude, Z is the section modulus at the location
being analyzed, and S is the stress concentration factor due to geometry at the loca-
tion being analyzed, if applicable.
The section modulus for an annular cross-section is:

π 4 4
Z = ------------- ( D o – D i )
32D o
(Eq. C-5)
where Di and Do are the inside and outside diameters, respectively. Substituting
values for this example:

π 4 4
Z = ---------------------- [ ( 2 in. ) – ( 0.75 in. ) ]
32 ( 2 in. )

3
= 0.77 in.
(Eq. C-6)

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Appendix C Piping Manual

From Reference [3] the stress concentration factor for the 1-inch radius at the base
is approximately 1.2. From Sections C3.0 and C5.0 the maximum allowable stress
amplitude is 2250 psi. The design endurance limit for carbon steel given in
Figure C-1 is 9000 psi (stress range). This value must be reduced by a factor of 2.0
to increase the factor of safety to 4.0, and an additional factor of 2.0 to convert the
endurance limit stress from stress range to stress amplitude.
During plant startup the vibration acceleration amplitude of each mass is measured
and evaluated with Equation C-4. The calculated stress must be less than the allow-
able stress or remedial action should be taken. Substituting the example values for
M, Z and S into Equation C-4 gives:

2250 ≥ 0.55 a1 + 1.01 a2

It should be noted that the cyclic stresses in the pipe, at the appurtenance base,
should also be checked using the moment calculated with Equation C-3. Welding
Research Council Bulletin 107 [4] and its supplement, Welding Research Council
Bulletin 297 [5] provide the required formulas and data to determine the stresses in
the pipe.

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