An Analysis of In-Flow Fluidelastic Instability Based on a Physical Insight

Author(s):  
Tomomichi Nakamura

Fluidelastic vibration of tube arrays caused by cross-flow has recently been highlighted by a practical event. There have been many studies on fluidelastic instability, but almost all works have been devoted to the tube-vibration in the transverse direction to the flow. For this reason, there are few data on the fluidelastic forces for the in-flow movement of the tubes, although the measured data on the stability boundary has gradually increased. The most popular method to estimate the fluidelastic force is to measure the force acting on tubes due to the flow, combined with the movement of the tubes. However, this method does not give the physical explanation of the root-cause of fluidelastic instability. In the work reported here, the in-flow instability is assumed to be a nonlinear phenomenon with a retarded or delayed action between adjacent tubes. The fluid force acting on tubes are estimated, based on the measured data in another paper for the fixed cylinders with distributed pressure sensors on the surface of the cylinders. The fluid force acting on the downstream-cylinder is assumed in this paper to have a delayed time basically based on the distance between the separation point of the upstream-cylinder to the re-attachment point, where the fluid flows with a certain flow velocity. Two models are considered: a two-cylinder and three–cylinder models, based on the same dimensions as our experimental data to check the critical flow velocity. Both models show the same order of the critical flow velocity and a similar trend for the effect of the pitch-to-diameter ratio of the tube arrays, which indicates this analysis has a potential to explain the in-flow instability if an adequate fluid force is used.

Author(s):  
Kazuo Hirota ◽  
Hideyuki Morita ◽  
Jun Hirai ◽  
Akihisa Iwasaki ◽  
Seiho Utsumi ◽  
...  

Fluidelastic instability (FEI) remains the most important vibration mechanism in steam generators. Fluidelastic instability of an array of tubes thought to be mainly occurred in the cross-flow direction. In the present day, some researchers reported possibility of occurrence of fluidelastic instability in the in-flow direction. However, the phenomenon of the in-plane FEI has not been well recognized compared to the transverse FEI. In this study, air flow tests using cantilevered straight cylinder array of tubes in triangular configuration were conducted. It is confirmed that the in-flow FEI could be occurred and the critical flow velocity in the in-flow direction is larger than that of in the cross flow direction. Furthermore, the relationship between P/D of an array of tubes and the critical flow velocity in the in-flow direction was also investigated.


Author(s):  
Marwan Hassan ◽  
Robert Rogers ◽  
Andrew Gerber

This paper presents simulations of a loosely supported multi-span tube subjected to turbulence and fluidelastic instability forces. Several time-domain fluid force models simulating the damping controlled fluidelastic instability mechanism in tube arrays are presented. These models include the negative damping model based on the Connors equation, fluid force coefficient-based models (Chen; Tanaka and Takahara), and two semi-analytical models (Price and Pai¨doussis; and Lever and Weaver). Time domain modelling challenges for each of these theories are discussed. The implemented models are validated against available experimental data. The linear simulations show that the Connors-equation based model exhibits the most conservative prediction of the critical flow velocity when the recommended design values for the Connors equation are used. The models are then utilized to simulate the nonlinear response of a three-span cantilever tube in a lattice bar support subjected to air crossflow. The tube is subjected to a single-phase flow passing over one of the tubes spans and the flow velocity and the support clearance are varied. Special attention is paid to the tube/support interaction parameters that affect wear, such as impact forces, contact ratio, and normal work rate. As was seen for the linear cases, the reduced flow velocity at the instability threshold differs for the fluid force models considered. The investigated models do, however, exhibit similar response characteristics for the impact force, tip lift response, and work rate, except for the Connors-based model that overestimates the response and the tube/support interaction parameters for the loose support case, especially at large clearances.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Utsumi

A semi-analytical method to examine the influences of the axial variations in the tube vibration amplitude and flow velocity on the critical flow velocity is investigated. We illustrate that neglecting the axial variation in the tube vibration amplitude can result in an overestimation of the critical flow velocity (nonconservative estimate) when the flow velocity is nonuniform. A condition under which such overestimation arises is derived by the transformation of the eigenvalue problem that is made to take into account the axial variations in the tube vibration amplitude and flow velocity. This condition is the existence of a positive correlation between the deviations of two functions: one representing the axial variation in the flow velocity and the other square of the function representing the nonuniformity of the tube vibration amplitude. The case with marked partial admission is investigated through physical consideration for this flow-induced vibration problem. We also study cases where the difference between tube eigenfrequencies in the flow and transverse directions results in a transition in the instability direction, from the transverse direction to that of flow.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2019
Author(s):  
Hossein Hamidifar ◽  
Faezeh Zanganeh-Inaloo ◽  
Iacopo Carnacina

Numerous models have been proposed in the past to predict the maximum scour depth around bridge piers. These studies have all focused on the different parameters that could affect the maximum scour depth and the model accuracy. One of the main parameters individuated is the critical velocity of the approaching flow. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of different equations to determine the critical flow velocity on the accuracy of models for estimating the maximum scour depth around bridge piers. Here, 10 scour depth estimation equations, which include the critical flow velocity as one of the influencing parameters, and 8 critical velocity estimation equations were examined, for a total combination of 80 hybrid models. In addition, a sensitivity analysis of the selected scour depth equations to the critical velocity was investigated. The results of the selected models were compared with experimental data, and the best hybrid models were identified using statistical indicators. The accuracy of the best models, including YJAF-VRAD, YJAF-VARN, and YJAI-VRAD models, was also evaluated using field data available in the literature. Finally, correction factors were implied to the selected models to increase their accuracy in predicting the maximum scour depth.


Author(s):  
Tomomichi Nakamura ◽  
Shinichiro Hagiwara ◽  
Joji Yamada ◽  
Kenji Usuki

In-flow instability of tube arrays is a recent major issue in heat exchanger design since the event at a nuclear power plant in California [1]. In our previous tests [2], the effect of the pitch-to-diameter ratio on fluidelastic instability in triangular arrays is reported. This is one of the present major issues in the nuclear industry. However, tube arrays in some heat exchangers are arranged as a square array configuration. Then, it is important to study the in-flow instability on the case of square arrays. The in-flow fluidelastic instability of square arrays is investigated in this report. It was easy to observe the in-flow instability of triangular arrays, but not for square arrays. The pitch-to-diameter ratio, P/D, is changed from 1.2 to 1.5. In-flow fluidelastic instability was not observed in the in-flow direction. Contrarily, the transverse instability is observed in all cases including the case of a single flexible cylinder. The test results are finally reported including the comparison with the triangular arrays.


Author(s):  
John Mahon ◽  
Craig Meskell

This paper reports on the interaction between fluidelastic instability (FEI) and acoustic resonance. In order to examine the interaction, the duct acoustics were excited with speakers placed adjacent to the tube array to artificially replicate flow-induced acoustic resonance. While the current study has clearly captured the phenomenon of interaction between the fluidelastic motion at ∼ 10 Hz and the acoustic field at ∼ 1kHz, it is not apparent what the physical mechanism at work might be. The paper details the effect on RMS level of tube vibration for three independent parameters: flow velocity, structural damping and acoustic power. The results presented show that there is a corresponding fall in the FEI vibration amplitude with increasing sound pressure level in the tube array. In addition, the effects of flow velocity and structural damping in conjunction with forced acoustics on the RMS of tube displacement are discussed.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Wei ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Zhenjun Cui ◽  
Lin Jiang ◽  
Wantong Sun ◽  
...  

Horizontal well drilling is a highly effective way to develop marine gas hydrate. During the drilling of horizontal wells in the marine gas hydrate layer, hydrate particles and cutting particles will migrate with the drilling fluid in the horizontal annulus. The gravity of cuttings is easy to deposit in the horizontal section, leading to the accumulation of cuttings. Then, a cuttings bed will be formed, which is not beneficial to bring up cuttings and results in the decrease of wellbore purification ability. Then the extended capability of the horizontal well will be restricted and the friction torque of the drilling tool will increase, which may cause blockage of the wellbore in severe cases. Therefore, this paper establishes geometric models of different hole enlargement ways: right-angle expansion, 45-degree angle expansion, and arc expanding. The critical velocity of carrying rock plates are obtained by EDEM and FLUENT coupling simulation in different hydrate abundance, different hydrate-cuttings particle sizes and different drilling fluid density. Then, the effects of hole enlargement way, particle size, hydrate abundance and drilling fluid density on rock carrying capacity are analyzed by utilizing an orthogonal test method. Simulation results show that: the critical flow velocity required for carrying cuttings increases with the increase of the particle size of the hydrate-cuttings particle when the hydrate abundance is constant. The critical flow velocity decreases with the increase of drilling fluid density, the critical flow velocity carrying cuttings decreases with the increase of hydrate abundance when the density of the drilling fluid is constant. Orthogonal test method was used to evaluate the influence of various factors on rock carrying capacity: hydrate-cuttings particle size > hole enlargement way > hydrate abundance > drilling fluid density. This study provides an early technical support for the construction parameter optimization and well safety control of horizontal well exploitation models in a marine natural gas hydrate reservoir.


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