Measurement of Flow-Induced Forces: A Single Flexible Tube in a Rigid Triangular-Pitch Bundle Subjected to Two-Phase Cross-Flow

Enrico Deri (1) , Joël Nibas (1) , Olivier Ries (1) , André Adobes (1)

1 EDF R&D MFEE - Mécanique des Fluides, Energies et Environnement

Flow-induced vibrations of Steam Generator tube bundles are a major concern for the operators of nuclear power plants. In order to predict damages due to such vibrations, EDF has developed the numerical tool GeViBus, which allows one to asses risk and thereafter to optimize the SG maintenance policy. The software is based on a semi analytical model of fluid-dynamic forces and dimensionless fluid force coefficients which need to be assessed by experiment. The database of dimensionless coefficients is updated in order to cover all existing tube bundle configurations. Within this framework, a new test rig was presented in a previous conference with the aim of assessing parallel triangular tube arrangement submitted to a two-phase cross-flow. This paper presents the result of the first phase of the associated experiments in terms of force coefficients and two-phase flow excitation spectra for both in-plane and out-of-plane vibration.

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Mécanique [physics.med-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Mécanique [physics.med-ph]; Vibrations [physics.class-ph]

Enrico Deri, Joël Nibas, Olivier Ries, André Adobes. Measurement of Flow-Induced Forces: A Single Flexible Tube in a Rigid Triangular-Pitch Bundle Subjected to Two-Phase Cross-Flow. ASME 2015 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference, Jul 2015, Boston, United States. ⟨10.1115/PVP2015-45081⟩. ⟨hal-01805052⟩