The Hidden Risk
Visual inspection confirms the damper exists.
It cannot confirm it's working.
Damper Failure Modes
Seized
Friction at pivot points, guide rollers, or hydraulic actuators increases due to corrosion, seal wear, or lack of lubrication. The mass no longer moves freely.
Detuned
Corrosion or wear shifts the natural frequency. The damper oscillates out of sync with the stack.
Heat Affected
Flaring events cause rapid thermal expansion, shifting stack stiffness and natural frequency. Damper tuning drifts during operations.
Degraded
Damping element loses effectiveness over time. Protection diminishes gradually and invisibly.
- A seized damper adds mass that worsens dynamic response
- None of these failure modes are visible from ground level
- All of them leave your stack unprotected during the next wind event
During Flaring: When Protection Matters Most
Flaring events create the exact conditions where dampers fail. Precisely when VIV risk is highest.
Steel's modulus drops with temperature. At 400°C, stack natural frequency shifts 8-15%. Your stack is no longer protected.
Viscous damping fluid heats up. Internal damping degrades 50-70% during sustained flaring.
Damper protection drops from 90% to below 50% - inadequate during the highest-risk operating condition.
Combined effect of frequency detuning and damping degradation during flaring events
Case Studies
In every reactive case, the failure mode was invisible until damage had accumulated.