Abstract
Fatigue life of plate and shell heat exchangers has been determined by experiments. Tests occurred with the aid of a pneumatic-hydraulic setup in which plate pack samples were internally pressurized by water. The samples were exposed to cyclic pressure loads varying from ambient to service pressure in the range 1.0–1.4 MPa, typical operating pressure range of crude oil production sites. Stress determination was possible due to strain gauge measurements. A heterogeneous stress field occurs along the corrugated plate due to its complex geometry. The external welded region is the preferential failure location. An average stress-life curve has been provided with 50% failure probability in accordance to ISO-12107. Fatigue strength reduction factors at the critical welded locations were determined via elastic stress analysis as proposed by ASME procedure. PSHE useful life increases with decreasing spacing between plates.
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