Numerical Simulation and Modelling Convention of Unsteady Fluidelastic Forces of Tube Arrays

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the unsteady fluidelastic forces of tube arrays. The key focus is on the consistency between the unsteady fluidelastic force model and the quasi-steady model for tube arrays at large reduced flow velocities, as well as comparing two well-known conventions for the unsteady model. Two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations are used to prove that the viscous damping coefficients of Tanaka's convention (Tanaka and Takahara, 1981) approach their quasi-steady values as the reduced flow velocity approaches infinity, whereas the hysteretic damping coefficients of Chen's modified convention (Chen et al., 1983) always approach zero and hence result in low-resolution data plots as the reduced flow velocity becomes large. The non-constant viscous damping coefficients of Tanaka's experimental data at high reduced flow velocities (which motivated the introduction of Chen's modified convention) might be induced by a systematic identification error in the phase of the fluidelastic force. A row of three flexible cylinders is used as a numerical example to analyse the effect of systematic phase error on the predicted stability boundary of the fluidelastic instability. Although identical fluidelastic forces are simulated by using the two conventions, Tanaka's convention is recommended due to its compatibility with the quasi-steady theory and optimal resolutions of data plots over any range of reduced flow velocities.

Pitch and Pattern Effects On Streamwise Fluidelastic Instability in Tube Arrays

Fluidelastic instability (FEI) is well known to be a critical flow-induced vibration concern for the integrity of the tubes in nuclear steam generators. Traditionally, this has been assumed to occur in the direction transverse to the direction of flow but the tube failures at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in Los Angeles proved that this assumption is not generally valid. A simple tube-in-channel theoretical model was previously developed to predict streamwise as well as transverse FEI in a parallel triangular tube array. This predicted that this array geometry was particularly sensitive to streamwise FEI for high mass-damping parameters and small pitch ratios, the conditions in which the SONGS failures occurred. The advantage of this simple modelling approach is that no new empirical data are required for parametric studies of the effects of tube pattern and pitch ratio on FEI. The tube-in-channel model has been extended to in-line square, normal triangular and rotated square tube arrays and the stability of these geometric patterns are analyzed for the effects of varying pitch ratio and the mass-damping parameter. The results are compared with the available experimental data and conclusions are drawn regarding the relative vulnerability of these different tube array geometries to streamwise FEI.

Fluid elastic instability and vortex induced vibration parameters in finned tube arrays with P/D ratio 1.79

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the effect of fin geometry on mechanisms of flow induced vibration. Finned tube arrays are used in a heat exchanger to increase its efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of geometric parameters of the fin fluid elastic instability and vortex shedding. In this paper, the effect of fin height, fin density and tube pitch ratio for parallel triangular tube array on fluid elastic instability and vortex shedding is analyzed. Design/methodology/approach Experimental analysis was carried out on a parallel triangular finned tube array with a pitch ratio of 1.79 subjected to water crossflow. The experimentation aims to study fluid elastic instability and vortex-induced vibration mechanism responsible for flow induced vibration for finned tube array. A fully flexible finned tube array of the copper tube was used with its base diameter of 19.05 mm and thickness of 2 mm. Over the tube surface, crimped fins of height 6 mm and the same material are welded spirally with fin density 8.47 mm and 2.82 mm. Experimental analysis was carried out on a test setup developed for the same. The results obtained for the finned tube array were compared with those for the plain tube array with the same base tube diameter. Findings For parallel triangular tube array of copper material, test results show that critical velocity increases with an increase in fin pitch density for low pitch tube array. Before the occurrence of instability, the rate of growth in tube vibrations is high for plain tubes compared to that with fin tubes. The results based on Owen’s hypothesis show vortex shedding before the occurrence of fluid elastic instability. The effect of fin geometry on vortex-induced forces is analyzed. For the tube array pattern understudy, the values of Conner’s constant K for coarse fin-tube and fine fin tube array are obtained, respectively, 6.14 and 7.25. Originality/value This paper fulfills the need for research on the effect of fin geometry on fluid elastic instability and Vortex shedding on a tube array subjected to water cross flow when the pitch ratio is less than two, i.e. with a low pitch ratio.

Convolution-based time-domain simulation for fluidelastic instability in tube arrays

A convolution-based numerical algorithm is presented for the time-domain analysis of fluidelastic instability in tube arrays, emphasizing in detail some key numerical issues involved in the time-domain simulation. The unit-step and unit-impulse response functions, as two elementary building blocks for the time-domain analysis, are interpreted systematically. An amplitude-dependent unit-step or unit-impulse response function is introduced to capture the main features of the nonlinear fluidelastic (FE) forces. Connections of these elementary functions with conventional frequency-domain unsteady FE force coefficients are discussed to facilitate the identification of model parameters. Due to the lack of a reliable method to directly identify the unit-step or unit-impulse response function, the response function is indirectly identified based on the unsteady FE force coefficients. However, the transient feature captured by the indirectly identified response function may not be consistent with the physical fluid-memory effects. A recursive function is derived for FE force simulation to reduce the computational cost of the convolution operation. Numerical examples of two tube arrays, containing both a single flexible tube and multiple flexible tubes, are provided to validate the fidelity of the time-domain simulation. It is proven that the present time-domain simulation can achieve the same level of accuracy as the frequency-domain simulation based on the unsteady FE force coefficients. The convolution-based time-domain simulation can be used to more accurately evaluate the integrity of tube arrays by considering various nonlinear effects and non-uniform flow conditions. However, the indirectly identified unit-step or unit-impulse response function may fail to capture the underlying discontinuity in the stability curve due to the prespecified expression for fluid-memory effects.

Implementation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Prediction of Fluidelastic Instability in Tube Arrays

Fluidelastic instability (FEI) in tube arrays has been studied extensively experimentally and theoretically for the last 50 years, due to its potential to cause significant damage in short periods. Incidents similar to those observed at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station indicate that the problem is not yet fully understood, probably due to the large number of factors affecting the phenomenon. In this study, a new approach for the analysis and interpretation of FEI data using machine learning (ML) algorithms is explored. FEI data for both single and two-phase flows have been collected from the literature and utilized for training a machine learning algorithm in order to either provide estimates of the reduced velocity (single and two-phase) or indicate if the bundle is stable or unstable under certain conditions (two-phase). The analysis included the use of logistic regression as a classification algorithm for two-phase flow problems to determine if specific conditions produce a stable or unstable response. The results of this study provide some insight into the capability and potential of logistic regression models to analyze FEI if appropriate quantities of experimental data are available.