Non-Linear Time Domain Method to Predict Tube-to-Tube Support Plate Fretting Wear in Steam Generators Available to Purchase

Fretting-wear of nuclear heat exchanger equipment is addressed at the design stage to demonstrate that the tube and tube support plate components will meet their design life. AREVA has developed a method to predict the progression of fretting-wear using a combination of the predicted work-rates determined from the non-linear interaction of the tube and tube support plates caused by turbulence-induced vibration and the forces associated with fluid-elastic instability. The wear rate is then computed based upon the work-rate and the experimentally determined wear coefficient of the material pair. This solution is performed with a time domain analysis using a time history modal superposition method. Time history forcing functions are first obtained by the inverse Fourier transform of the power spectral density function used in classical turbulence-induced vibration analysis. The fluid-structure coupling force, which is dependent on the cross-flow velocity, is linearly superimposed onto the turbulence forcing function. The tube responses are then computed by direct integration in the time domain. The results of the analysis show that the highest work-rates occur at the design tube-to-tube support plate clearance configuration and become progressively lower over the life of the heat exchanger. The work-rates and the turbulence-induced vibration response of the tube are computed at several mid-life time steps based upon the increased tube-to-tube support plate clearances resulting from the tube wear.