Abstract
The fluid distributors of corner-corner type (named in ASME, FDCC in abbreviation in this paper) are more and more frequently adopted in large high effective condenser or large efficient heat exchanger because of its advantages of space saving, easy to manufacture and high steam flux. But, high local stresses due to discontinuity at its right angle connection would lead to fracture failure or uneconomical design with current empirical rough design method. Meanwhile, the fluid distributor as the pressure element in shell side of heat exchanger, its axial stiffness would affect the tubesheets, shell and tube bundle of the fixed-tubesheet heat exchanger based on the mechanical model and theory in ASME code. Unfortunately, there is no accurate, scientific solution so far because of its complex structure.
In this paper, the structure character and loads of the fluid distributor were introduced and its risk in design was analyzed. An accurate analytical solution based on elastic shell and plate theory was put forward for the fluid distributor under inner pressure and/or axial forces. The detailed calculation method with linear equation matrix was presented to solve the overall strength, local stresses, and stress trend curves for each component and its overall axial stiffness for the fluid distributor. Finally, the method was verified by numerical simulation. The results indicate that the method developed in this paper is valid and accurate to resolve the current design problems. Meanwhile, it is shown by an example that the method can be programed for effective design for fixed tubesheet heat exchangers.
