Effect of Mechanical Model on Limit Load Analysis of High Pressure Heater Tubesheet

Tubesheet is the main part of high pressure heater, which is very thick based on chinese code GB151 for the design of heat exchangers. Increased tubesheet with large thermal stress are not conducive to manufacture, heat transmission and detection. The stress and structure of tubesheet are so complex that the time costs too large during the analysis design, and stress classification exists uncertainty. Limit load method contributes to tubesheet lightweight. 3-D finite element model used for analysis design should be simplified reasonably. In this paper, the effect of mechanical model on limit load analysis of high pressure heater tubesheet conforming to the design-by-analysis code is researched. It is found that the tubesheet could pass the plastic collapse assessment, and the thickness of tubesheet could be decreased. The difference between the equivalent sold tubesheet model and the whole tubesheet model exists during plastic collapse assessment. Though the local stress distribution is different, the limit load results occurred plastic collapse by the equivalent sold tubesheet model is close to that by the whole tubesheet model. The limit load occurred plastic collapse is influenced by max circular diameter of tube layout little. The reason is attributed to original tubesheet owning enough rigidity related to thickness, and high stress appeares on the inner wall of jointing of tubesheet with head. The equivalent sold tubesheet model could be used for primary evaluation of limit load, and the whole tubesheet model is suited for partial analysis. The results provide some reference for the design-by-analysis of high pressure heater tubesheet.