A Comparative Study on Elastic Behavior of Trefoil Patterned Perforated Plate Available to Purchase

A tube support plate is one of the significant parts of a steam generator, which confines the rotational and translational motion of tubes caused by the hydraulic and seismic load. It also provides a flow path along the tubes. There are various types of tube support plates according to the component designer’s preference. In this investigation, ten types of trefoil Broached Tube Support Plate (BTSP) specimens made from ASME stainless steel were analyzed and tested to determine the appropriate shape of trefoil BTSP in the view of the elastic properties including elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio. The types of trefoil BTSP specimens were designated as SI through S5 and L1 through L5 for S and L types, respectively. These specimens are categorized by the shape and dimension of broached hole. Ten specimens were investigated through finite element analysis, and compression and bending tests. The dimensions of the test specimens were decided through a previous research study done to examine appropriate shape for the compression and bending tests. The equivalent elastic properties of BTSP were obtained by the finite element analysis as per different loading orientation as well as the various specimen types. Autodesk® Inventor™ software was used to make the analytical model and ABAQUS® software was used for the analysis and post-processing. The equivalent elastic properties of BTSP specimens were also acquired by the compression and bending tests. From the results of the finite element analysis, and the compression and bending tests, the appropriate shapes of trefoil BTSP with regard to the equivalent elastic modulus, and Poisson’s ratio are suggested as L4, S3, and S4.