An Improved 1D Model for Liquid Slugs Travelling in Pipelines

An improved one-dimensional (1D) model — compared to previous work by the authors — is proposed which is able to predict the acceleration and shortening of a single liquid slug propagating in a straight pipe with a downstream bend. The model includes holdup at the slug’s tail and flow separation at the bend. The obtained analytical and numerical results are validated against experimental data. The effects of the improvement and of holdup are examined in a parameter variation study.

An Overview of IAEA Technical Guidelines on Fluid-Structure Interaction

This paper provides an overview of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) draft technical guidelines on Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI), which is supporting document for IAEA Safety Standards aimed at providing method and practices. The technical guidelines are based on sections in codes and standards, more general documents on FSI and documents describing particular plant issues or problems. The technical guidelines recognise that FSI has led to a range of problems in a range of reactor types including: flow-induced vibration in light water reactor (LWR) steam generators under external loading including seismic loading; fretting of LWR heat exchangers with the fretting loading dependent on cross-flow velocity; seismic effects and fluid sloshing in liquid metal cooled faster breeder reactor (LMFBR); and water hammer. In addition to providing an overview description of the technical guidelines, the paper also describes the process followed to produce and obtain peer review of the document.

Spinning Behaviour of Diametral Acoustic Modes in Deep Axisymmetric Cavities With Chamfered Edges

Spinning behaviour of diametral acoustic modes associated with self-sustained flow oscillations in a deep, axisymmetric cavity located in a long pipeline was investigated experimentally. High-amplitude pressure fluctuations resulted from the excitation of the diametral acoustic modes by the fully-turbulent flow in the pipeline. The unsteady pressure was measured at three equally spaced azimuthal locations at the bottom of the cavity. This arrangement allowed calculation of the azimuthal orientation of the acoustic modes, which were classified as stationary, partially spinning or spinning. Introduction of shallow chamfers to the upstream and the downstream edges of the cavity resulted in changes of azimuthal orientation and spinning behaviour of the acoustic modes. In addition, introduction of splitter plates in the cavity led to pronounced change in the spatial orientation and the spinning behaviour of the acoustic modes. The short splitter plates changed the behaviour of the dominant acoustic modes from partially spinning to stationary, while the long splitter plates enforced the stationary behaviour across all resonant acoustic modes.

Unsteady Aerodynamic Forces Measured on a Fluttering Profile

The study presents evaluation of optical measurements of the air flow field near the fluttering profile NACA0015 with two-degrees of freedom, Mach number of the flutter occurrence were M=0.21 and M=0.45. Aerodynamic forces (drag and lift components) were evaluated independently on the upper and lower surfaces of the profile. Using the mentioned decomposition, the new information about mechanism of flutter properties was obtained. The forces on the upper and lower surfaces are phase shifted and are partially eliminated as a result of the circulation around the profile. The cycle changes of these forces cause the permanent energy contribution from the airflow to the vibrating system.

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

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.

In-Plane Vibration Damping of a U-Tube With Wet and Dry Flat-Bar Supports

Tests are being planned which will use AECL’s MR-3 Freon test facility and a Multi-Span U-Bend (MSUB) test rig to investigate the dynamics of tube vibration in two-phase flow, in particular those mechanisms that can cause excessive damage to steam-generator tubes. In preparation for the tests, free- and forced-vibration tests were conducted to measure the vibration energy dissipation (damping) of a single U-bend tube in air, with dry and wet anti-vibration bars, under a variety of tube-support conditions. This paper presents the relevant damping mechanisms and documents methods used to conduct the tests and to analyze the energy dissipated at the supports. Results indicate that for in-plane motion without tube-to-support contact, viscous damping related to wet AV B supports is much smaller than guidelines based on other types of supports suggest. To begin to examine the effects of the tube coming into contact with its supports, such as friction-related energy dissipation, the results of tests with light tube-to-support preloads are also presented.

Development of a Numerical Model for Quasi-Periodic Forces of Two-Phase Cross Flow in Tube Bundles

To reduce the damage caused by induced vibrations due to two-phase cross flow on tube bundles in heat exchangers, a deep understanding of the different sources of this phenomenon is required. For this purpose, a numerical model was previously developed to simulate the quasi periodic forces on the tube bundle due to two-phase cross flow. An Euler-Lagrange approach is adopted to describe the flow. The Euler approach describes the continuous phase (liquid) using potential flow. The dispersed phase is assumed to have no interaction on liquid flow. Based on visual observation, static vortices behind the tube are introduced. The Lagrange approach describes the dispersed phase (gas). The model allows bubbles to split up or to coalesce. The forces taken into account acting on the bubbles are the buoyancy, the drag and induced drag, the added mass and induced added mass and impact force (bubble-bubble and bubble-tube). Forces taken into account acting on the tubes are impact forces and induced drag and added mass forces. This model allows us to obtain quasi periodic force on tube induced by two-phase cross flow of relative good magnitude and frequency contains. The model still needs improvement to bring us closer to experimental data of force, for example by introducing a dependency between the void ratio and the intensity of the vortex and by taking into account the bubbles deformation.

Crack Growth Prediction and Leakage Potential of Steam Generator Tubes Subjected to Flow Induced Vibrations

Nuclear steam generators are critical components of nuclear power plants. Flow-Induced Vibrations (FIV) are a major threat to the operation of nuclear steam generators. The two main manifestations of FIV in heat exchangers are turbulence and fluidelastic instability, which would add mechanical energy to the system resulting in great levels of vibrations. The consequences on the operation of steam generators are premature wear of the tubes, as well as development of cracks that may leak radioactive heavy water. This paper investigates the effect of tube support clearance on crack propagation. A crack growth model is used to simulate the growth of Surface Flaws and Through-Wall Cracks of various initial sizes due to a wide range of support clearances. Leakage rates are predicted using a two-phase flow leakage model. Non-linear finite element analysis is used to simulate a full U-bend subjected to fluidelastic and turbulence forces. Monte Carlo Simulations are then used to conduct a probabilistic assessment of steam generator life due to crack development.

Linear and Nonlinear Dynamics of Cantilevered Cylinders in Axial Flow

Understanding and prediction of the dynamics of slender flexible cylinders in axial flow is of interest for the design and safe operation of heat exchangers and nuclear reactors, specifically that of heat exchanger tubes, nuclear fuel elements, control rods, and monitoring tubes. In such fluid-structure interaction problems, the fluid forces acting on the flexible structure play a vital role in defining its dynamics. Therefore, a precise calculation of the coefficients associated to these forces, such as the longitudinal and normal viscous force coefficients, and base drag coefficient in the equation of motion is imperative. The present work is aimed at (i) calculating these force coefficients for a cantilevered slender flexible cylinder, fitted with an ogival end-piece, in axial flow and (ii) conducting experiments on the same system. In the calculation of these force coefficients, the parameters of the experimental system are used, so that the theoretically predicted dynamics would be representative of the actual physical system. These calculated force coefficients are then incorporated in the linear and nonlinear equations of motion and the predicted dynamics are compared with those of the experiments. The comparison shows good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results.

The Effect of Aspect Ratio and Angle of Attack on the Transition Regions of the Inverted Flag Instability

The fluttering flag instability has been thoroughly studied through experimental, computational and theoretical means. However, each of these studies only considers the boundary conditions where a flagpole or other tethering mechanism precedes the plate in the fluid flow. Under the inverse condition, where the so-called flag is fixed by its downstream edge in the fluid flow, three regions of behavior exist: straight, flapping, and bent back. This paper expands on these findings by closely examining the transition regions between straight and flapping and flapping and bent back. The onset mechanism of the instability and the terminating mechanism are shown to be dependent on different factors. The region of flapping occurs within a narrow range of non-dimensional bending stiffness, with the region boundaries depending on the aspect ratio and angle of attack of the plate.