ABSTRACT
Conically corrugated tube is a new type of high-efficiency heat exchange tube. In this paper, the mechanical and heat transfer properties of conically corrugated tubes formed by the cold rolling of smooth tubes are studied through experimental measurement and numerical simulation to lay the foundations for applying the tubes in heat exchangers. The results show that while conically corrugated tube has a lower axial elastic stiffness compared with smooth tube, conically corrugated tube has a higher yield strength and ultimate strength. Unlike smooth tubes, conically corrugated tubes develop three-dimensional stresses when an axial tensile load is applied to them. In addition, the heat transfer coefficient of conically corrugated tube is 15%, 17%, and 115% higher than that of spiral grooved tube, convergent divergent tube, and smooth tube, respectively. Finally, the correlation equations of the axial stress concentration factor, stiffness equivalent coefficient, Nusselt number, and flow resistance coefficient of conically corrugated tubes are obtained for engineering application.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, interactions of double parallel cracks were studied by performing experiments and numerical simulations. Fatigue crack propagation tests were carried out to measure crack growth rates in the specimens with double parallel cracks or a single crack. Finite element method was adopted to calculate stress intensity factors at the crack tips. Results show that the double parallel cracks at different positions present a shielding effect or enhancement effect on crack growth rates and stress intensity factors. When the double parallel cracks are offset, crack interactions mostly behave as enhancement effects. Empirical formulas were obtained to calculate the stress intensity factor at the "dangerous" crack tip of the double parallel cracks. By modifying the material parameters in Paris equation of the single crack, the double parallel cracks are simplified into a single crack with the same crack growth rates.
ABSTRACT
Highly efficient heat exchange tubes are special tube shapes that are widely used in heat exchangers to enhance heat transfer. In this study, experimental measurements and numerical simulations were carried out on two types of highly efficient heat exchange tubes, namely, spirally grooved tubes and converging-diverging tubes, to investigate changes in their mechanical properties after rolling from smooth tubes. It was found that, unlike the smooth tubes, all axial, circumferential, and radial stresses exist at the two types of tubes under axial loading, and the maximum axial stress is much larger than that at the smooth tubes. Compared to the smooth tubes, the yield strength and ultimate strength of the highly efficient heat exchange tubes increase while the axial elastic stiffness decreases. Although the capability of resisting fatigue fracture of the highly efficient heat exchange tubes is less than that of smooth tubes, they still meet the requirements of the heat exchanger under fatigue loading. Axial stress concentration factors and stiffness equivalent factors for the highly efficient heat exchange tubes are regressed as a function of the structural parameters for engineering applications.
ABSTRACT
Having higher capacity to undertake pressures and larger compensation ability compared with the U-shape bellows, toroidal or Ω-shape bellows are being more and more widely used in engineering. The wave-shape and wall thickness reduction of bellows are the most important parameters for measuring the hydroforming quality of the bellows. In order to provide references for actual manufacturing, it is valuable to study the factors influencing the hydroforming process and quality of the bellows. In this paper, finite element simulations of the hydroforming process of a monolayer and single-wave toroidal bellows and a two-layer and four-wave toroidal bellows were carried out. Stress and strain distributions before and after unloading were analyzed and the wave height and wall thickness reduction were examined. The numerical results were verified by the actual hydroforming measurements. In addition, ranges of the significant structural or operating factors for producing better bellows were studied and a formula to compute the wall thickness reduction was fitted based on the sufficient numerical results of the hydroforming simulations.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the interactions between two parallel cracks are investigated experimentally and numerically. Finite element models have been established to obtain the stress intensity factors and stress distributions of the parallel cracks with different positions and sizes. Fatigue crack growth tests of 304 stainless steel specimens with the single crack and two parallel cracks have been conducted to confirm the numerical results. The numerical analysis results indicate that the interactions between the two parallel cracks have an enhancement or shielding effect on the stress intensity factors, depending on the relative positions of the cracks. The criterion diagram to determine the enhancement or shielding effect between two parallel cracks is obtained. The changes of the stress fields around the cracks have been studied to explain the mechanism of crack interactions.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, the fatigue crack growth behavior of the base metal (BM), the weld metal (WM) and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in the metal-inert gas (MIG) welded joints of the 06Cr19Ni10 stainless steel are analyzed and studied. Results of the fatigue crack propagation tests show that a new fatigue crack initiates at the crack tip of a pre-existing crack, then propagates perpendicular to the direction of cyclic fatigue loads. This observation indicates that the original mixed-mode crack transforms into the mode I crack. The WM specimen has the largest fatigue crack growth rate, followed by the HAZ specimen and the BM specimen. To illustrate the differences in fatigue crack growth behavior of the three different types of specimens, metallographic structure, fracture morphology and residual stresses of the BM, HAZ and WM are investigated and discussed. The metallographic observations indicate that the mean grain size of the HAZ is relatively larger than that of the BM. The fractographic analysis shows that the WM has the largest fatigue striation width, followed by the HAZ and the BM. It is also found that the depth of dimple in the WM is relatively shallower than the one in the HAZ and BM, implying the poor plasticity behavior of the material. Analysis results of the residual stress analysis demonstrate a high level of tensile residual stress appearance in the WM and HAZ.
