New Experimental Data and Analysis for Two-Phase Flow-Induced Vibration of Tube Bundles: Preliminary Results

Author(s):  
Deepanjan Mitra ◽  
Vijay K. Dhir ◽  
Ivan Catton

In the past, fluid-elastic instability in two-phase flow has been largely investigated with air-water flow. In this work, new experiments are conducted in air-water cross-flow with a fully flexible 5 × 3 normal square array having pitch-to-diameter ratio of 1.4. The tubes have a diameter of 0.016 m and a length of 0.21 m. The vibrations are measured using strain gages installed on piano wires used to suspend the tubes. Experiments are carried out for void fractions from 0%–30%. A comparison of the results of the current tests with previous experiments conducted in air-water cross-flow shows that instability occurs earlier in a fully flexible array as compared to a flexible tube surrounded by rigid tubes in an array. An attempt is made to separate out the effects of structural parameters of three different experimental datasets by replotting the instability criterion by incorporating the instability constant K, in the reduced velocity parameter.

Author(s):  
G. Ricciardi ◽  
M. J. Pettigrew ◽  
N. W. Mureithi

Two-phase flow in power plant steam generators can induce tube vibrations, which may cause fretting-wear and even fatigue cracks. It is therefore important to understand the relevant two-phase flow-induced vibration mechanisms. Fluidelastic instabilities in cross-flow are known to cause the most severe vibration response in the U-bend region of steam generators. This paper presents test results of the vibration of a normal triangular tube bundle subjected to air-water cross-flow. The test section presents 31 flexible tubes. The pitch-to-diameter ratio of the bundle is 1.5, and the tube diameter is 38 mm. Tubes were flexible in the lift direction. Seven tubes were instrumented with strain gauges to measure their displacements. A broad range of void fractions (from 10% to 90%) and fluid velocities (up to 13 m/s) were tested. Fluidelastic instabilities were observed for void fractions between 10% and 60%. Periodic fluid forces were also observed. The results are compared with those obtained with the rotated triangular tube bundle, showing that the normal triangular configuration is more stable than the rotated triangular configuration.


Author(s):  
Olufemi E. Bamidele ◽  
Wael H. Ahmed ◽  
Marwan Hassan

Abstract The current work investigates two-phase flow induced vibrations in 90° U-bend. The two-phase induced vibration of the structure was investigated in the vertical, horizontal and axial directions for various flow patterns from bubbly flow to wavy and annular-dispersed flow. The void fractions at various locations along the piping including the fully developed void fraction and the void fraction at the entrance of the U-bend were fully investigated and correlated with the vibration amplitude. The results show that the excitation forces of the two-phase flow in a piping structure are highly dependent on the flow pattern and the flow conditions upstream of the bend. The fully developed void fraction and slip between phases are important in modelling of forces in U-bends and elbows.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 321-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Pettigrew ◽  
C. E. Taylor ◽  
J. H. Jong ◽  
I. G. Currie

Two-phase cross-flow exists in many shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The U-bend region of nuclear steam generators is a prime example. Testing in two-phase flow simulated by air-water provides useful results inexpensively. However, two-phase flow parameters, in particular surface tension and density ratio, are considerably different in air-water than in steam-water. A reasonable compromise is testing in liquid-vapor Freon, which is much closer to steam-water while much simpler experimentally. This paper presents the first results of a series of tests on the vibration behavior of tube bundles subjected to two-phase Freon cross-flow. A rotated triangular tube bundle of tube-to-diameter ratio of 1.5 was tested over a broad range of void fractions and mass fluxes. Fluidelastic instability, random turbulence excitation, and damping were investigated. Well-defined fluidelastic instabilities were observed in continuous two-phase flow regimes. However, intermittent two-phase flow regimes had a dramatic effect on fluidelastic instability. Generally, random turbulence excitation forces are much lower in Freon than in air-water. Damping is very dependent on void fraction, as expected.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Pettigrew ◽  
C. E. Taylor

Two-phase flow exists in many shell-and-tube heat exchangers such as condensers, evaporators, and nuclear steam generators. Some knowledge on tube damping mechanisms is required to avoid flow-induced vibration problems. This paper outlines the development of a semi-empirical model to formulate damping of heat exchanger tube bundles in two-phase cross flow. The formulation is based on information available in the literature and on the results of recently completed experiments. The compilation of a database and the formulation of a design guideline are outlined in this paper. The effects of several parameters such as flow velocity, void fraction, confinement, flow regime and fluid properties are discussed. These parameters are taken into consideration in the formulation of a practical design guideline.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Feenstra ◽  
David S. Weaver ◽  
Tomomichi Nakamura

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the flow-induced vibration response and fluidelastic instability threshold of model heat exchanger tube bundles subjected to a cross-flow of refrigerant 11. Tube bundles were specially built with tubes cantilever-mounted on rectangular brass support bars so that the stiffness in the streamwise direction was about double that in the transverse direction. This was designed to simulate the tube dynamics in the U-bend region of a recirculating-type nuclear steam generator. Three model tube bundles were studied, one with a pitch ratio of 1.49 and two with a smaller pitch ratio of 1.33. The primary intent of the research was to improve our understanding of the flow-induced vibrations of heat exchanger tube arrays subjected to two-phase cross-flow. Of particular concern was to compare the effect of the asymmetric stiffness on the fluidelastic stability threshold with that of axisymmetric stiffness arrays tested most prominently in literature. The experimental results are analyzed and compared with existing data from literature using various definitions of two-phase fluid parameters. The fluidelastic stability thresholds of the present study agree well with results from previous studies for single-phase flow. In two-phase flow, the comparison of the stability data depends on the definition of two-phase flow velocity.


1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Pettigrew ◽  
C. E. Taylor

Two-phase flow exists in many industrial components. To avoid costly vibration problems, sound technology in the area of two-phase flow-induced vibration is required. This paper is an overview of the principal mechanisms governing vibration in two-phase flow. Dynamic parameters such as hydrodynamic mass and damping are discussed. Vibration excitation mechanisms in axial flow are outlined. These include fluidelastic instability, phase-change noise, and random excitation. Vibration excitation mechanisms in cross-flow, such as fluidelastic instability, periodic wake shedding, and random excitation, are reviewed.


Author(s):  
Paul Feenstra ◽  
David S. Weaver ◽  
Tomomichi Nakamura

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the flow-induced vibration response and fluidelastic instability threshold of a model heat exchanger tube bundle subjected to a cross-flow of refrigerant 11. Tube bundles were specially built with cantilevered tubes mounted on asymmetric supports so that the stiffness in the streamwise direction was about double that of the transverse direction. This was designed to simulate the tube dynamics in the U-bend region of a recirculating-type nuclear steam generator. Three model tube bundles were tested, one with a pitch ratio of 1.49 and two with a smaller pitch ratio of 1.33. The primary intent of the research was to improve our understanding of the flow-induced vibrations of heat exchanger tube arrays subjected to two-phase cross-flow. Of particular concern was to compare the effect of the asymmetric support stiffness on the fluidelastic stability threshold with that of symmetric stiffness arrays tested most prominently in the literature. The experimental results are analysed and compared with existing data from the literature using various definitions of two-phase fluid parameters. The fluidelastic stability thresholds of the present study agree well with results from previous studies for single phase flow. In two-phase flow, the comparison of the stability data depends upon the definition of two-phase flow velocity.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoshi Minemura ◽  
Tomomi Uchiyama

This paper is concerned with the determination of the performance change in centrifugal pumps operating under two-phase flow conditions using the velocities and void fractions calculated under the assumption of an inviscid bubbly flow with slippage between the two phases. The estimated changes in the theoretical head are confirmed with experiments within the range of bubbly flow regime.


Author(s):  
Feng Xiao ◽  
Mehriar Dianat ◽  
James J. McGuirk

A robust two-phase flow LES methodology is described, validated and applied to simulate primary breakup of a liquid jet injected into an airstream in either co-flow or cross-flow configuration. A Coupled Level Set and Volume of Fluid method is implemented for accurate capture of interface dynamics. Based on the local Level Set value, fluid density and viscosity fields are treated discontinuously across the interface. In order to cope with high density ratio, an extrapolated liquid velocity field is created and used for discretisation in the vicinity of the interface. Simulations of liquid jets discharged into higher speed airstreams with non-turbulent boundary conditions reveals the presence of regular surface waves. In practical configurations, both air and liquid flows are, however, likely to be turbulent. To account for inflowing turbulent eddies on the liquid jet interface primary breakup requires a methodology for creating physically correlated unsteady LES boundary conditions, which match experimental data as far as possible. The Rescaling/Recycling Method is implemented here to generate realistic turbulent inflows. It is found that liquid rather than gaseous eddies determine the initial interface shape, and the downstream turbulent liquid jet disintegrates much more chaotically than the non-turbulent one. When appropriate turbulent inflows are specified, the liquid jet behaviour in both co-flow and cross-flow configurations is correctly predicted by the current LES methodology, demonstrating its robustness and accuracy in dealing with high liquid/gas density ratio two-phase systems.


1969 ◽  
Vol 184 (1) ◽  
pp. 647-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Smith

An expression is obtained for void fraction in two-phase flow based upon a simple physical model. The model assumes an annular flow regime with a liquid phase and a homogeneous mixture phase flowing with equal dynamic head. Excellent correlation is obtained with a wide range of experimental data, indicating a significant improvement over current methods.


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