Safety in Tube Bundle Heat Exchangers: Some Remarks on the Latest German Standard Concerning Flow-Induced Vibration

Author(s):  
Michael Fischer ◽  
Klaus Strohmeier
Author(s):  
Michael Fischer

In the past finned tube bundle heat exchangers were often subject of severe damages due to flow-induced vibration followed by high amounts of loss for the operator. A case of practical importance is the design of spiral finned gas tube bundle heat exchangers that still have been investigated in literature only seldom. Both acoustic resonance and fluidelastic instability can lead to tube rupture within a short period of operation. In this paper analytic calculation methods for tube Eigenfrequencies are extended to spiral finned tubes. The results are in agreement with static and vibrational experiments. Stability criteria for fluidelastic instability are derived by flow channel experiments extending Connor’s equation to the design of spiral finned tube bundles. A number of cases of damage is described. The importance of correct damping values is demonstrated. The scheme reported in this paper is able to avoid damages in spiral finned tube bundle heat exchangers due to fluidelastic instability.


Author(s):  
Kazuo Hirota ◽  
Tomomichi Nakamura ◽  
Hirohiko Kikuchi ◽  
Kazunori Isozaki ◽  
Hirotaka Kawahara

Fluidelastic and vortex induced vibration are important problems in operating heat exchangers. Many studies have been conducted to solve the problems. As a result, design guideline has already existed for the flow-induced vibration of a tube bundle. On the other hand, some kinds of heat exchanger use finned tube array in order to improve the efficiency of the heat transfer. For finned tube array, some studies for vortex induced acoustic resonance have been conducted, where Strouhal numbers are obtained. However fluctuating lift coefficients due to vortex are important from the viewpoint of tube vibration. Moreover, critical velocities for fluidelastic vibration are also important. In this study, fluidelastic and vortex induced vibration tests were conducted for a triangular finned tube array. Two different frequencies of the vortex shedding were observed. For this tube array, Strouhal numbers were 0.13–0.15, 0.37–0.39. However vortex induced forces were too weak to excite the finned tubes. For this tube array, averaged Connors’ constant K was 6.8.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
M. S. Medeiros ◽  
A. J. K. Leiroz

The development of a simple computational procedure that allows the precise determination of important parameters for the thermal and mechanical design of tubular heat exchangers is discussed in the present work. The design of tubular heat exchangers for a wide variety of applications can involve the use of empirical expressions and data tables for the determination of the tube bundle parameters, such as the tube count and the tube bundle outside diameter. The motivation for developing the discussed procedure resides in addressing cases for which empirical expressions are inapplicable or data table are unavailable. Initially, the shell positions in which tubes can be placed are determined based on specified tube pitch, angle of arrangement, inlet and outlet nozzle diameters and tube bundle-to-shell clearance. The maximum number of tubes for the given configuration is obtained from the tube position searching procedure. A sorting algorithm, based on the tube distance to the shell center, is used to appropriately place a specified number of tubes within the heat exchanger cross section. Results for a single- and multiple-pass fixed-tubesheet heat exchangers are presented and compared with available tube count tables.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Osweiller

For about 40 years most tubesheet exchangers have been designed according to the standards of TEMA. Partly due to their simplicity, these rules do not assure a safe heat-exchanger design in all cases. This is the main reason why new tubesheet design rules were developed in 1981 in France for the French pressure vessel code CODAP. For fixed tubesheet heat exchangers, the new rules account for the “elastic rotational restraint” of the shell and channel at the outer edge of the tubesheet, as proposed in 1959 by Galletly. For floating-head and U-tube heat exchangers, the approach developed by Gardner in 1969 was selected with some modifications. In both cases, the tubesheet is replaced by an equivalent solid plate with adequate effective elastic constants, and the tube bundle is simulated by an elastic foundation. The elastic restraint at the edge of the tubesheet due the shell and channel is accounted for in different ways in the two types of heat exchangers. The purpose of the paper is to present the main basis of these rules and to compare them to TEMA rules.


Author(s):  
H. Senez ◽  
N. W. Mureithi ◽  
M. J. Pettigrew

Two-phase cross flow exists in many shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Flow-induced vibration excitation forces can cause tube motion that will result in long-term fretting wear or fatigue. Detailed flow and vibration excitation force measurements in tube bundles subjected to two-phase cross flow are required to understand the underlying vibration excitation mechanisms. Studies on this subject have already been done, providing results on flow regimes, fluidelastic instabilities, and turbulence-induced vibration. The spectrum of turbulence-induced forces has usually been expected to be similar to that in single-phase flow. However, a recent study, using tubes with a diameter larger than that in a real steam generator, showed the existence of significant quasi-periodic forces in two-phase flow. An experimental program was undertaken with a rotated-triangular array of cylinders subjected to air-water cross-flow, to simulate two-phase mixtures. The tube bundle here has the same geometry as that of a real steam generator. The quasi-periodic forces have now also been observed in this tube bundle. The present work aims to understand turbulence-induced forces acting on the tube bundle, providing results on drag and lift force spectra and their behaviour according to flow parameters, and describing their correlations. Detailed experimental test results are presented in this paper. Comparison is also made with previous measurements with larger diameter tubes. The present results suggest that quasi-periodic fluid forces are not uncommon in tube arrays subjected to two-phase cross-flow.


Author(s):  
Lena Bergstro¨m ◽  
Maria Lindberg ◽  
Anders Lindstro¨m ◽  
Bo Wirendal ◽  
Joachim Lorenzen

This paper describes Studsvik’s technical concept of LLW-treatment of large, retired components from nuclear installations in operation or in decommissioning. Many turbines, heat exchangers and other LLW components have been treated in Studsvik during the last 20 years. This also includes development of techniques and tools, especially our latest experience gained under the pilot project for treatment of one full size PWR steam generator from Ringhals NPP, Sweden. The ambition of this pilot project was to minimize the waste volumes for disposal and to maximize the material recycling. Another objective, respecting ALARA, was the successful minimization of the dose exposure to the personnel. The treatment concept for large, retired components comprises the whole sequence of preparations from road and sea transports and the management of the metallic LLW by segmentation, decontamination and sorting using specially devised tools and shielded treatment cell, to the decision criteria for recycling of the metals, radiological analyses and conditioning of the residual waste into the final packages suitable for customer-related disposal. For e.g. turbine rotors with their huge number of blades the crucial moments are segmentation techniques, thus cold segmentation is a preferred method to keep focus on minimization of volumes for secondary waste. Also a variety of decontamination techniques using blasting cabinet or blasting tumbling machines keeps secondary waste production to a minimum. The technical challenge of the treatment of more complicated components like steam generators also begins with the segmentation. A first step is the separation of the steam dome in order to dock the rest of the steam generator to a specially built treatment cell. Thereafter, the decontamination of the tube bundle is performed using a remotely controlled manipulator. After decontamination is concluded the cutting of the tubes as well as of the shell is performed in the same cell with remotely controlled tools. Some of the sections of steam dome shell or turbine shafts can be cleared directly for unconditional reuse without melting after decontamination and sampling program. Experience shows that the amount of material possible for clearance for unconditional use is between 95 – 97% for conventional metallic scrap. For components like turbines, heat exchangers or steam generators the recycling ratio can vary to about 80–85% of the initial weight.


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