Phone: +31 (0)85 058 0046
E-mail: infoaanvraag@dynaflow.com
E-mail: infoaanvraag@dynaflow.com
ABOUT US
HEAD OFFICE
Laan van Oversteen 20
6th floor
2289 CX Rijswijk
The Netherlands
Despite the best engineering practices, failures cannot always be avoided. In case of a failure, including vibrations, leakage, or failure of fiberglass systems, we can assist in determining the root cause, how to solve it, and how to prevent similar failures in the future.
Failures in a piping system may have many different causes. A lack of flexibility for example where thermal expansion or other forced displacements cannot be accommodated. Or when transient forces due to surge or water hammer are not expected or taken into account, displacing the pipe of sliding support or even rupturing the pipe. For firewater lines, sprinklers- and deluge systems, internal corrosion of traditional piping like carbon steel can lead to blockage of the firewater sprinkler that might compromise the safe operation of your system. It may be difficult to identify the cause of a particular failure and to know what needs to be done to fix the failure and prevent it from happening in the future. Especially when dynamic effects are at play, the cause of a failure may not always be obvious.
With our presence in Europe (NL) the Middle East (UAE) and North America, we can quickly respond to your failure-related request and plan a visit for on-site inspections. To determine the root cause of a failure and prevent it from happening in the future a more in-depth analysis may be required. In that case, we perform a detailed Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
Dynaflow has over 35 years of experience in complex engineering. There is no piping failure we cannot handle.
Failures are often related to vibrations. Dynaflow uses the latest software solutions to quantify and solve complex vibration issues.
It is almost unavoidable that some level of vibration occurs in piping and equipment while in operation. Pressure pulsations are intrinsically present because compressors and pumps drive the flow. Small imperfections in equipment can introduce vibrations in the pipe and pipe fittings. Furthermore, valves always generate a certain level of flow disturbance, resulting in the presence of small pressure fluctuations. Small vibrations are often acceptable. Depending on the excitation mechanism and mechanical response of the system, however, fatigue failure may occur. For vibration-related failures, fatigue failure is the primary failure mechanism.
Excitation sources for typical installations include:
Whether or not these excitation sources cause fatigue-related problems in your system depends primarily on the loading frequency and the mechanical response. The effectiveness of a vibration source to cause fatigue failure is determined by the mechanical response (Eigenfrequency and Eigenmode) of the system. The mechanical response of the system is related to the weight distribution of the system and the stiffness of the system. The stiffness of the installation depends on the pipe layout, support arrangement, structural steel stiffness, and pipe dimensions.
Dynaflow specializes in vibration problems and can assist in quantifying the vibrations (with measurements and dynamic stress analysis) and determine the necessity and type of action to mitigate the vibration. Find out more on our vibration expertise page.
In fiberglass systems, failures cannot always be avoided. Fiberglass failures may occur during the construction phase, during the commissioning phase (hydro-testing), or operation. Independent of the event, you want a quick solution to repair your pipe system.
Typical fiberglass failures during the construction phase may be related to the transport and storage of components, handling of components, and adhesive bonding activities, especially in hot climates. During the commissioning failures may be related to lamination quality, backfill conditions for buried pipes, support arrangement, and settlement. Once the fiberglass installation is in operation typical failures could be pipe rupture due to excessive water hammer pressure, leaking due to poor joint quality or support arrangement, and vibrations caused by machine vibrations or flow-induced phenomena.
We follow a structured approach and use tools to gather valuable information about the conditions at the onset of the event. Based on our fiberglass expertise and observations made in the field by our field engineer we often can quickly identify the root cause of a failure define corrective actions for repair and give recommendations to avoid similar failures in the future. Sometimes it is necessary to take samples in the field to verify whether the fiberglass material meets the specifications. This can involve mechanical testing, chemical analysis, or measurement of the physical properties. Most of these tests can be performed in our in-house test laboratory.
A review of the design can be part of the failure analysis. This may include static and dynamic stress analysis, surge and water hammer analysis, transient analysis, and a check on short- and long-term allowable stresses. We also check the input parameters and mechanical properties if required. These properties originate from the qualification records and measurements on the specimens taken from the field samples.
With our presence in Europe (NL) the Middle East (UAE) and North America, we can quickly respond to your request and provide on-site support to quickly identify the problem. Sometimes, finding the root cause of a fiberglass failure requires a more in-depth analysis. In such cases, we assist our field engineer with office support to carry out a root cause analysis.
DRG conducts piping flexibility assessments using the software Caesar II from Hexagon. Caesar II is used for both static and dynamic piping analyses. We have a thorough understanding of the software and are also an official Caesar II training provider for Hexagon. Caesar II is considered the industry standard for pipe stress analysis.
Our in-house developed professional software solution BOSfluids is an interactive and visual software package for the simulation and analysis of fluid flow to determine the flow rates, pressures, and unbalanced forces in piping systems. It is an effective tool to study the steady state and transient flow conditions and help you perform coupled fluid-structure analyses.
Laan van Oversteen 20
6th floor
2289 CX Rijswijk
The Netherlands
© Dynaflow Research Group BV
