Numerical Simulation of Fretting Wear of Heat-Transfer Tubes in Steam Generator Under Random Excitation Forces

A numerical simulation method of fretting wear on heat-transfer tube under random excitation is proposed in this paper. Linear springs are used to simulate the in-plane support of anti-vibration Bars (AVBs) to the U-bend tube. The contact forces between the tube and the AVBs are calculated by using FEM random excitation analysis program. And the in-plane relative displacements subjected to turbulence between the tube and the AVBs at each contact points are calculated. The workrate in Archard equation can be calculated by multiplying the contact force, the relative displacement, coefficient of friction and the modal frequency. By using this method, a representative tube is studied. And the effect that the pre-tightening forces between the tube and AVBs had on the fretting wear and the fluid-elastic stability is discussed.