Dynamics of Tubes in Fluid With Tube-Baffle Interaction

Abstract

Three series of tests are performed to evaluate the effects of tube to tube-support-plate (TSP) clearance on tube dynamic characteristics and instability phenomena for tube arrays in crossflow. Test results show that, for relatively large clearances, tubes may possess “TSP-inactive modes” in which the tubes rattle inside some of the tube-support-plate holes, and that the natural frequencies of TSP-inactive modes are lower than those of “TSP-active modes,” in which the support plates provide “knife-edge”-type support. Tube response characteristics associated with TSP-inactive modes are sensitive to tube-to-TSP clearance, TSP thickness, excitation amplitude, tube alignment, and the fluid inside the clearance. In addition, tube response is intrinsically nonlinear, with the dominance of TSP-inactive or TSP-active modes depending on the magnitudes of different system parameters. In general, such a system is difficult to model; only a full-scale test can provide all the necessary characteristics. A tube array supported by TSPs with relatively large clearances may be subjected to dynamic instability in some of the TSP-inactive modes; tube response characteristics and impact forces on TSPs for a tube row are studied in detail. Tube displacements associated with the instability of a TSP-inactive mode are small; however, impacts of the tube against TSPs may result in significant damage in a relatively short time.