Stress Analysis of Elliptical Tube Plates in Heat Exchangers

Abstract

Elliptical tube plates are used widely in high temperature, high pressure heat exchangers and waste heat boilers. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the stress distribution in elliptical tube plates subjected to internal pressure and discusses the location of the maximum stress. Two test models were used to gather data. Calculations were based on two-dimensional finite element analysis. The experiments used strain gage measurements. The results of the analysis of the two models show that the theoretical calculations and the experimental data are in good agreement, and that the location of the maximum stress is not at the crown of the elliptical tube plates. The latter result differs from the previously published conclusions of Rachkov and Morozov [1].