The Limit Load Interactions of the Brazed Aluminum Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger Header Under Combined Piping Loads

In order to investigate the strength design problem of the brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchanger header under complex external piping loads, the limit load interactions of the header under combined piping loads are studied in this paper. To establish the limit piping load interaction curves, nonlinear finite element analysis assuming the elastic perfectly plastic material model is performed by using the commercial finite element analysis software ANSYS and multiple piping load combinations, which are the combination of orthogonal bending moment components, torque component-shear force component, bending moment component-axial force component, compound bending moment-axial force component, and torque component-compound shear force, of the header with six opening ratios ranging from 0.5 to 1 are explored. The results of the interaction diagrams show that the feasible combined piping load zone of the header derived from the interaction curves can be simplified as a triangular zone determined by the individual limit piping load components safely and the simplified feasible zone is suggested to be used for establishing a simplified safety assessment method for the header under combined piping loads.