Modal localization in mistuned tube-array structures

An investigation of mode localization in mistuned tube-array structures is studied in this work. The continuous action of hot-cold fluid shock waves in tube-array heat exchangers results in a significant abrasive wear of the tubes, which in turn alters their dynamic behavior and may introduce an undesirable modal localization effect within the tube bundle. This study performs a numerical investigation into the problem of modal localization in mistuned tube-array heat exchangers, with cross-flow. In conducting the investigation, the heat exchanger is modeled as a bundle of periodically-arranged cooling tubes in which the vibrational displacements of the individual tubes are weakly coupled to those of their neighbors via a squeezed water film in the gap between them. In general, the numerical results reveal that damage to even a single tube within the array is sufficient to introduce a severe modal localization effect. Furthermore, due to the weak coupling effect of the fluid, the vibrational energy induced by modal localization is confined to the defected tube and its immediate neighbors, and hence the risk of further wear defected within the tube bundle is increased. The results suggest that the modal localization phenomenon is alleviated at higher values of the cross-flow velocity, but becomes more severe as the tube wall thickness is increased.     

Fluid-Damping Controlled Instability in Tube Bundles Subjected to Air Cross-Flow

There are different excitation mechanisms that cause fatal damages due to undesirable vibrations in heat exchanger tube bundles subjected to cross-flow. One of them is the fluid-damping-controlled instability (galloping) that is characterised by a sudden appearance of large amplitudes of the tubes exclusively in cross-flow direction. This paper reports on investigations using an experimental set-up in a wind tunnel where the galloping mechanism in a tube bundle can be observed as an isolated phenomenon. The apparatus allows to realise several tube bundle configurations and geometry's of real heat exchangers. The position of a flexible test tube with a linear iso-viscoelastic mounting inside the tube array is variable. The test tube is equipped with dynamical pressure sensors which are placed directly under pressure holes inside the tube. For the investigation of the acting fluid forces the non-stationary pressure distribution is measured simultaneously at 30 points on the circumference in mid plane and at 15 points in line along the tube together with the tube motion. The acting fluid forces are determined by integration of the whole pressure field process. The study gives insights into the effect of the fluid-damping-controlled instability that is still not fully understood. Moreover, a flow visualization gives an impression of the mechanism at relevant Reynolds-numbers. The results show that in case of instability due to galloping the correlation length of the forces acting along the tube axis increases suddenly to large values. The fluid forces are correlated well for the whole tube when galloping is dominant. The exciting fluid forces show harmonic character and lead to a classical resonance behaviour. Instead of a simple free vibration test in vacuum or still air, which is done mostly for fluid excited structures, the damping coefficient of the oscillating system is determined under operating conditions on the basis of the measured fluid forces. A comparison of the results with those of a free vibration test in still air is shown. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Parametric study of gross flow maldistribution in a single-pass shell and tube heat exchanger in turbulent regime

Uniform distribution of flow in tube bundle of shell and tube heat exchangers is an arbitrary assumption in conventional heat exchanger design. Nevertheless, in practice, flow maldistribution may be an inevitable occurrence which may have severe impacts on thermal and mechanical performance of heat exchangers i.e. fouling. The present models for flow maldistribution in the tube-side deal only with the maximum possible velocity deviation. Other flow maldistribution models propose and recommend the use of a probability distribution, e.g. Gaussian distribution. None of these, nevertheless, estimate quantitatively the number of tubes that suffer from flow maldistribution. This study presents a mathematical model for predicting gross flow maldistribution in the tube-side of a single-pass shell and tube heat exchanger. It can quantitatively estimate the magnitude of flow maldistribution and the number of tubes which have been affected. The validation of the resultant model has been confirmed when compared with similar study using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).     

失谐叶片-轮盘结构系统振动局部化问题的研究进展

对近２０年来国内外关于失谐叶片－轮盘结构系统振动局部化问题研究的进展进行了较为详细的评述和讨论,文中首先说明了振动局部化问题的基本概念,然后对失谐叶片－轮盘结构系统模态局部化和动态响应局部化在分析模型、求解方法及其基本性质和规律等方面的研究进展进行了较为全面的评述,最后提出了今后应深入研究的问题．     

Modelling of fluidelastic instability in a square inline tube array including the boundary layer effect

Flow-induced vibration (FIV) is a design concern in many engineering applications such as tube bundles in heat exchangers. When FIV materializes, it often results in fatigue and/or fretting wear of the tubes, leading to their failure. Three cross-flow excitation mechanisms are responsible for such failures: random turbulence excitation, Strouhal periodicity, and fluidelastic instability. Of these three mechanisms, fluidelastic instability has the greatest potential for destruction. Because of this, a large amount of research has been conducted to understand and predict this mechanism. This paper presents a time domain model to predict the fluidelastic instability forces in a tube array. The proposed model accounts for temporal variations in the flow separation. The unsteady boundary layer is solved numerically and coupled with the structure model and the far field flow model. It is found that including the boundary layer effect results in a lower stability threshold. This is primarily due to a larger fluidelastic force effect on the tube. The increase in the fluidelastic effect is attributed to the phase difference between the boundary layer separation point motion and the tube motion. It is also observed that a non-linear limit cycle is predicted by the proposed model.     

Numerical estimation of mixed convection heat transfer in vertical helically coiled tube heat exchangers

A numerical investigation of the mixed convection heat transfer from vertical helically coiled tubes in a cylindrical shell at various Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers, various coil‐to‐tube diameter ratios and non‐dimensional coil pitches was carried out. The particular difference in this study compared with other similar studies is the boundary conditions for the helical coil. Most studies focus on constant wall temperature or constant heat flux, whereas in this study it was a fluid‐to‐fluid heat exchanger. The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of the tube diameter, coil pitch and shell‐side mass flow rate on shell‐side heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger. Different characteristic lengths were used in the Nusselt number calculations to determine which length best fits the data and finally it has been shown that the normalized length of the shell‐side of the heat exchanger reasonably demonstrates the desired relation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experiments in a single-phase natural circulation mini-loop

This study reports an experimental investigation related to a rectangular single-phase natural circulation mini-loop, which consists of two horizontal copper tubes (heat transfer sections) and two vertical tubes (legs) made of copper, connected by means of four glass 90° bends. The loop inner diameter is 4 mm. The lower heating section consists of an electrical heating wire made of nicromel on the outside of the copper tube; the upper cooling system consists of a coaxial cylindrical heat exchanger with a water–glycol mixture, set at controlled temperature and flowing through the annulus. The loop has an imposed heat flux in the lower heating section and an imposed temperature in the cooler. The mini-loop was placed onto a table which can assume different inclinations. The parameters investigated during the experiments were: power transferred to the fluid and inclination of the loop. The preliminary results show a stable behaviour with a steady temperature difference across the heat sinks. It has been confirmed that the fluid velocity is very small (order of millimetres per second).     

Heat transfer characteristics of a new helically coiled crimped spiral finned tube heat exchanger

In the present study, the heat transfer characteristics in dry surface conditions of a new type of heat exchanger, namely a helically coiled finned tube heat exchanger, is experimentally investigated. The test section, which is a helically coiled fined tube heat exchanger, consists of a shell and a helical coil unit. The helical coil unit consists of four concentric helically coiled tubes of different diameters. Each tube is constructed by bending straight copper tube into a helical coil. Aluminium crimped spiral fins with thickness of 0.5 mm and outer diameter of 28.25 mm are placed around the tube. The edge of fin at the inner diameter is corrugated. Ambient air is used as a working fluid in the shell side while hot water is used for the tube-side. The test runs are done at air mass flow rates ranging between 0.04 and 0.13 kg/s. The water mass flow rates are between 0.2 and 0.4 kg/s. The water temperatures are between 40 and 50°C. The effects of the inlet conditions of both working fluids flowing through the heat exchanger on the heat transfer coefficients are discussed. The air-side heat transfer coefficient presented in term of the Colburn J factor is proportional to inlet-water temperature and water mass flow rate. The heat exchanger effectiveness tends to increase with increasing water mass flow rate and also slightly increases with increasing inlet water temperature.     

Vortex shedding and fluidelastic instability in a normal square tube array excited by two-phase cross-flow

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the flow-induced vibration (FIV) response and fluidelastic stability threshold of a model heat exchanger tube bundle subjected to a cross-flow of refrigerant 11. The tube bundle consisted of a normal square array of 12 tubes with outer tube diameters of 7.11 mm and a pitch over diameter ratio of 1.485. The experiments were conducted in a flow-loop that was capable of generating single- and two-phase cross-flows over a variety of mass fluxes and void fractions. The primary intent of the research was to improve our understanding of the FIVs of heat exchanger tube arrays subjected to two-phase cross-flow. Of particular concern was the effect of array pattern geometry on fluidelastic instability. The experimental results are analysed and compared with existing data from the literature using various methods of parameter definition. Comparison of tube vibration response in liquid flow with previous results shows a similar occurrence of symmetric vortex shedding that validates the scale model approach in single-phase flow. It was found that the introduction of a small amount of bubbles in the flow disrupted the vortex shedding and thereby caused a significant reduction in streamwise vibration amplitude. The fluidelastic stability thresholds for the present array agree well with results from previous studies. Furthermore, a good collapse of the stability data from various investigations is obtained when the fluid density is defined using the slip model of Feenstra et al. and when an effective two-phase flow velocity is defined using the interfacial velocity model of Nakamura et al.     

WAVE LOCALIZATION IN RANDOMLY DISORDERED PERIODIC PIEZOELECTRIC RODS

The wave propagation in periodic and disordered periodic piezoelectric rods is studied in this paper. The transfer matrix between two consecutive unit cells is obtained according to the continuity conditions. The electromechanical coupling of piezoelectric materials is considered. According to the theory of matrix eigenvalues, the frequency bands in periodic structures are studied. Moreover, by introducing disorder in both the dimensionless length and elastic constants of the piezoelectric ceramics, the wave localization in disordered periodic structures is also studied by using the matrix eigenvalue method and Lyapunov exponent method. It is found that tuned periodic structures have the frequency passbands and stopbands and localization phenomenon can occur in mistuned periodic structures. Furthermore, owing to the effect of piezoelectricity, the frequency regions for waves that cannot propagate through the structures are slightly increased with the increase of the piezoelectric constant.     

Analytical solution of conjugate heat transfer and optimum configurations of flat-plate heat exchangers with circular flow channels

An analytical solution is developed for conjugate heat transfer in a flat-plate heat exchanger with circular embedded channels. The analysis was carried out for fully-developed conditions in the circular tube and uniform heat flux at the plate boundary. The results are applicable to cooling channels that are 50 μm or more in diameter with a large length–diameter ratio. The thermal characteristics of the heat exchanger have been examined for a wide range of the relevant independent parameters and optimum designs for three different sets of constraints have been presented. It was found that the overall thermal resistance increases with the depth of the tube from the heated surface, as well as the spacing between the tubes. For a given combination of tubes’ depth and spacing, there is a certain tube diameter at which the thermal resistance attains a minimum value.     

Thermo-hydraulic characterization of a louvered fin and flat tube heat exchanger

In the present study, a whole heat exchanger with a hydraulic diameter of 2.3 mm is tested, which is a minichannel heat exchanger according to the Kandlikar classification. This is a louvered fin and flat tube heat exchanger currently used in car cooling systems, also known as radiator. A glycol-water mixture (60/40 in volume) circulates through the tubes at flows ranging from 100 to 7800 l/h and at a supply temperature of 90 °C. This fluid is cooled with ambient air at a temperature of 20 °C and at frontal air velocities varying between 0.5 and 7 m/s. The thermohydraulic performance of the heat exchanger is compared with the classical correlations given in the literature for the heat transfer and the friction factor calculation. On the glycol-water side the heat exchanger is characterized for Reynolds numbers from 30 to 8000. A first comparison is carried out with the correlations available in the literature with a purely predictive model by obtaining a predictive value with a systematic under prediction lower than 10%. In a second step a semi-empirical model is considered to identify the experimental heat transfer coefficients for this application.     

Measurement of heat transfer coefficient and axial dispersion coefficient using temperature oscillations

A periodic transient test technique based on the axial dispersion model is proposed for the determination of both heat transfer coefficients and axial dispersion coefficients in heat exchangers. The model uses a parameter called the axial dispersive Peclet number to account for the deviation of the flow pattern from ideal plug flow. It takes both axial dispersion in the fluid and axial heat conduction in the wall into account and is solved analytically by means of a complex Fourier transform. Experiments conducted on dented copper tubes show that axial dispersion has a significant effect on the dynamic temperature response of a heat exchanger.     

Fluid-elastic instability in tube arrays subjected to air-water and steam-water cross-flow

Flow induced vibrations in heat exchanger tubes have led to numerous accidents and economic losses in the past. Efforts have been made to systematically study the cause of these vibrations and develop remedial design criteria for their avoidance. In this research, experiments were systematically carried out with air-water and steam-water cross-flow over horizontal tubes. A normal square tube array of pitch-to-diameter ratio of 1.4 was used in the experiments. The tubes were suspended from piano wires and strain gauges were used to measure the vibrations. Tubes made of aluminum; stainless steel and brass were systematically tested by maintaining approximately the same stiffness in the tube-wire systems. Instability was clearly seen in single phase and two-phase flow and the critical flow velocity was found to be proportional to tube mass. The present study shows that fully flexible arrays become unstable at a lower flow velocity when compared to a single flexible tube surrounded by rigid tubes. It is also found that tubes are more stable in steam-water flow as compared to air-water flow. Nucleate boiling on the tube surface is also found to have a stabilizing effect on fluid-elastic instability.     

A review on transient test techniques for obtaining heat transfer design data of compact heat exchanger surfaces

Accurate and reliable dimensionless heat transfer characteristic is very essential for the analysis of heat exchangers. It is also required for the rating and sizing problems of heat exchangers. One of the important experimental methods used to determine the heat transfer coefficient between the heat transfer surface of the heat exchanger and the flowing fluid is transient test techniques. The transient test techniques are usually employed to establish Colburn factor versus Reynolds number characteristics of a high NTU heat exchanger surfaces like compact or matrix heat exchangers. In those situations, a single-blow test, where only one fluid is used, is employed to conduct the transient test. The transient technique may have the fluid inlet temperature having a step change, periodic or an arbitrary rise/drop. In this paper, various transient test techniques that are used for the determination of heat transfer characteristics of high NTU heat exchanger surfaces are discussed.     

A simplified model of heat transfer in heat exchangers and stack plates of thermoacoustic refrigerators

A simplified model of heat transfer was developed to investigate the thermal behavior of heat exchangers and stack plates of thermoacoustic devices. The model took advantage of previous results describing the thermal behavior of the thermoacoustic core and heat transfer in oscillating flow to study the performance of heat exchangers attached to the core. The configuration considered is a flat tube (with a working fluid flowing in the tube) of the thickness of the stack plate attached to both ends of the stack plate. Geometrical and operational parameters as well as thermophysical properties of the heat exchangers, transport fluids in the heat exchangers, stack plate and the thermoacoustic working fluid were organized into dimensionless groups that allowed accounting for their impact on the performance of the heat exchangers. Two types of thermal boundary conditions were considered: constant temperature and constant heat flux along the heat exchanger tubes. Numerical simulations were carried out with the model introduced in the paper. The temperature distributions and heat fluxes near the edge of the stack plate were found to be nonlinear. The influence of system parameters on the thermal performance of the heat exchangers was analyzed.This article is dedicated to Prof. D. Mewes, whose knowledge, creativity, enthusiasm and dedication to engineering science was an inspiration to me and to many students, scientists, engineers and colleagues all over the world (C. Herman).     

Heat transfer from a vertical tube bundle under natural circulation conditions

A rectangular loop (thermosyphon) was used to measure the average heat transfer coefficients for water at atmospheric pressure under natural circulation conditions. A twenty-one tube bundle with tubes 1.65 m long and 9.55 mm in diameter, and a pitch-to-diameter ratio of 1.33, was used as a test heat exchanger in one of the vertical legs of the loop. A natural circulation flow in the loop developed due to buoyancy differences of the fluid in its two vertical legs. Flow visualization experiments were performed to determine the flow regimes associated with natural circulation flow longitudinal to a tube bundle. Empirical correlations for the average Nusselt number have been developed and are reported. Grid spacers arranged on tube bundles were shown to enhance heat transfer, especially for laminar flow, without any noticeable increase in pressure drop.     

核电690合金传热管微动疲劳试验及损伤机理分析

核电蒸汽发生器传热管在微幅磨损与交变载荷的作用下形成微动疲劳,导致其表面裂纹萌生和扩展乃至破裂,从而影响反应堆的安全. 为研究径向载荷以及轴向交变应力对690合金管微动疲劳寿命的影响规律,开展690合金管管材的微动疲劳试验,获得690合金管管材的微动疲劳寿命曲线,并与相关研究数据进行对比分析,以便探讨材料在微动疲劳下的寿命模型. 对不同载荷下的690合金管试样的磨痕表面进行三维形貌和扫描电镜观测,分析磨损表面的损伤机理;对不同载荷下的690合金管试样断口的宏观与微观形貌进行表征,分析裂纹萌生、起裂过程及其失效机理. 结果表明690合金管与403不锈钢(SS)抗振条间的磨损机理为剥层及磨粒磨损;690合金管在径向载荷作用下于微动磨损处产生裂纹源,裂纹在轴向交变应力的作用下不断向内部扩展,最终导致断裂;其断裂形式为解理疲劳断裂.      

The role of vortex wake dynamics in the flow-induced vibration of tube arrays

Potential flow and 2-D Navier–Stokes calculations are used to investigate the role of vortex shedding in the non-resonant flow-induced vibration of periodic tube arrays. This dual approach untangles the effects of potential and vortical flow. The negative damping theory is shown to be inconsistent with the Navier–Stokes simulations, and allowing only a single degree of freedom in tube motion significantly overestimates the critical velocity. In contrast, Navier–Stokes simulations which allow all tubes to move in both the transverse and streamwise directions give results in good agreement with experiment. Somewhat surprisingly, potential flow calculations including an artificial phase lag between fluid force and tube motion give reasonably accurate results for a wide range of phase lags. This may be due to the fact that the most unstable mode at onset appears to be streamwise anti-phase (not whirling), as observed in the potential flow case.     

加工后的双壁金属换热管在升温-降温过程中受到的力学影响

铅冷钠冷快堆核电设备中的蒸汽发生器,有着在液态金属和水之间进行热交换的作用,其换热部分由排列的换热管组成。贴合式的双壁管是一种具有高换热效率及抵抗管裂纹扩展的管材,适合于这种应用环境。这种管材的内外管间存在残余压力,这是内外管紧贴的标志。然而在经历升至高温又降温的过程后,内外管间残余压力有可能消失引起两管脱开。为了得知温度对贴合式双壁金属管的具体影响,本文设计了一种拉伸法来制备双壁管,并同时采用有限元数值模拟管的加工制备过程并得到了内外管间的残余应力,再对加温后降温的过程进行模拟,分析换热管残余应力和应变状态进行了分析的变化,并通过初步试验来进行验证。通过研究,结果表明温度变化引起的塑性变形是管间残余压力变化的主要原因。通过控制管的加工过程来控制管材加工程度的方法,可望应对温度变化对管稳定性的影响。