Thermo-structural fatigue analysis of shell and tube type heat exchanger

Abstract

Increased demand of alternative fuels, need of high pressure and temperature vessels for petroleum refineries, chemical plants gave rise to the development in the pressure vessel technology from last few decades. Many advancements in the field of pressure vessel engineering such as fracture mechanics, fatigue and creep process understanding, new material grades & composite materials, welding techniques such as explosion welding and various finite element analysis techniques like thermal coupled structural, transient thermal, dynamic simulations like response spectrum and nonlinear buckling which accurately assessing the stresses encountered in pressure vessels are developed.This paper describes the means with which one can reasonably accurately ascertain the thermal fatigue analysis of pressure vessel in accordance with design by analysis approach. It highlights the various failure modes, design by analysis approach used for pressure vessel. It allows the engineer to investigate a range of variables within the design process and contributes significantly to the basic requirement of a safe design within an economic framework.