Introduction: Vibration of instrument stabbings and other pipework at National Grid’s compressor stations and terminals has previously given rise to fatigue failures, and a programme of work has been undertaken to modify pipework identified as being at risk. As part of this work, pipework vibration monitoring at compressor stations and terminals has been used to assess the risk of fatigue failure following any incidents, and as part of a screening exercise.

Recent developments in sensor technologies may offer an improvement in these monitoring activities, enabling an understanding of the dynamic behaviour of pipework to be gained more quickly, in greater detail, and with a lower cost for installation and decommissioning, and for sites with high levels of electromagnetic interference such as the newer electric drive compressors. It may also be possible to make more immediate use of the results of this analysis, possibly assessing the condition of assets during operation to identify potential problems.

Objectives:

The desired result would see demonstration, through laboratory and field trials, of the capabilities of novel vibration measurement sensors and systems, which could be deployed for assessing the risk of vibration-related fatigue failure of process pipework, specifically for sites with high levels of electromagnetic interference such as the newer electric drive compressors.

Expected Benefits: Successful field trials prove the performance of one or more of the various sensor systems such that the product can be rolled out across the National Transmission system sites.