Fluidelastic instability is the most important vibration excitation mechanism for heat exchanger tube bundles subjected to cross-flow. Most of the available data on this topic have been reviewed from the perspective of the designer. Uniform definitions of critical flow velocity for instability, damping, natural frequency and hydrodynamic mass were used. Nearly 300 data points were assembled. We found that only data from experiments where all tubes are free to vibrate are valid from a design point of view. In liquids, fluid damping is important and should be considered in the formulation of fluidelastic instability. From a practical design point of view, we conclude that fluidelastic instability may be expressed simply in terms of dimensionless flow velocity and dimensionless mass-damping. There is no advantage in considering more sophisticated models at this time. Practical design guidelines are discussed.
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Fluidelastic Instability of Heat Exchanger Tube Bundles: Review and Design Recommendations
M. J. Pettigrew,
M. J. Pettigrew
AECL Research, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
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C. E. Taylor
C. E. Taylor
AECL Research, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
M. J. Pettigrew
AECL Research, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
C. E. Taylor
AECL Research, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. May 1991, 113(2): 242-256 (15 pages)
Published Online: May 1, 1991
Article history
Received:
December 31, 1990
Online:
June 17, 2008
Citation
Pettigrew, M. J., and Taylor, C. E. (May 1, 1991). "Fluidelastic Instability of Heat Exchanger Tube Bundles: Review and Design Recommendations." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. May 1991; 113(2): 242–256. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2928752
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