Research On Two-Phase Flow Induced Vibration Characteristics Of U-Tube Bundles

In steam generators and other heat exchangers, there are a lot of tube bundles subjected to two-phase cross-flow. The fluctuating pressure on tube bundle caused by turbulence can induce structural vibration. The experimental data from a Utube bundle of steam generator in air-water flow loop are analyzed in this work. The different upper bounds of buffeting force are used to calculate the turbulence buffeting response of U-tubes, and the calculation results are compared with the experimental results. The upper bounds of buffeting force include one upper bound based on single-phase flow, and two upper bounds based on two-phase flow. It is shown that the upper bound based on single-phase flow seriously underestimated the turbulence excitation, the calculated vibration response is much less than the experimental measurement. On the other hand, the vibration response results calculated with the upper bounds based on two-phase flow are closer to the measured results under most circumstances.