Managing the Risk of Vibration Related Failures on Facility Pipework

Vibration related fatigue accounts for a significant proportion of all pipework failures in process plant and pipeline facilities. Small bore pipework is particularly at risk and example failures are presented which highlight these concerns. Operators of large diverse assets, such as a gas processing plant, or a large asset base, such as a series of compressor stations, may have some difficulty in identifying plant, pipework and fittings at risk. An approach to address pipework vibration issues is therefore proposed to address this issue on facility pipework and assess the relative risk for prioritization purposes. A case-study is presented of a recent project that employed a multi-stage review process of a large number of different installations. This allowed resources to be concentrated on detailed investigation and development of solutions for the highest risk locations.