Detection of Harmful Resonance Frequencies on Pipes

Pipelines are essential components in nearly all production processes—wherever liquids, oils, gases, powders, or granulates need to be transported. In the food industry, for example, they are used to transport liquid ingredients that are first delivered by tanker truck and then pumped into intermediate storage tanks via a pipe system. From there, they later enter the production process. These pipe systems often extend over several kilometers within a plant.

Pipe systems form the backbone of production. A failure of this infrastructure, for example due to mechanical defects or material fatigue, can lead to a complete production standstill. Despite their comparatively low material value, damaged pipes carry the risk of considerable follow-up costs. The excitation of pipes at their resonance frequency is particularly critical, for example when liquids are pumped through the pipes at an unfavorable speed. This leads to undesirable vibrations, comparable to a swing that swings higher and higher due to targeted impulses. In the long term, this can lead to structural weakening, increased wear, or complete breakage of the connection points. Regular, preventive condition monitoring is therefore essential, although this is traditionally labor-intensive and costly.

The measurement data is transmitted via IO-Link, which simplifies integration and avoids additional hardware costs. The sensor samples the acceleration data at 64 kHz and stores it internally. Using BLOB transfer, the data packets can be read out without disturbing the ongoing signal measurement. Subsequent analysis using FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation) makes it possible to detect whether a pipe system is in the range of a critical resonance frequency. This allows maintenance work to be planned as required and potential damage to be avoided.