--
532
Chapter
I
I
4. Beam strip on elastic foundation (single or multiple strips)
Of these four methods, the basis of the beam strip method is discussed next.
Beam
Strip
Method.
In the beam strip method, the problem of an elastically restrained perfo-
rated rectangular plate on an irregular elastic foundation is replaced by several more readily
solved beams on an elastic foundation as shown in Fig.
10.
The beams represent narrow strips
of
tube sheets supported by tubes, loaded by hydrostatic pressure and waterbox pull. The
loading on each beam strip must be estimated, taking into account forces and moments acting
on the waterbox and the type of end fixity.
The standard explains the steps in the beam strip method, with an example. Briefly, these
steps cover the choice of the beam strip models (width, length, reduced stiffness of perforated
zones), the loading to be applied, and an estimate of the edge restraint against rotation provided
to the beam strip by the water box flange.
The notable features of HE1 Standards on tubesheet design include features such as consid-
eration of pressure surges, pump shutoff, head circulating water system characteristics, ade-
quate means for provision of expansion, etc. Allowable stress and loads are to be chosen
similar to the design-by-analysis approach of Appendix
4
in the
ASME
Code, Section
VIII,
Div.
2.
3.8
Curved Tube Sheets
Traditionally, heat exchangers use thick flat tube sheets. The problem of replacing thick flat
tube sheets by thinner curved tube sheets was suggested first by Rachkov and Morozov
[79].
They designed a much thinner semi-ellipsoidal curved tube sheet based on membrane theory
of shells. The design of shallow spherical curved tube sheets for heat exchangers is discussed
by Paliwal et al.
[go].
Similar to a flat tube sheet treated as a thin flat plate on an elastic
foundation, the curved tube sheet model uses the theory
of
a thin elastic shallow spherical shell
on an elastic foundation, and replaces the curved plate by an equivalent plate having effective
elastic constants; the nominal bending and membrane stresses and deflections are determined.
A curved tube-sheet exchanger
is
shown
in
Fig.
11.
So
far,
no
code or standard has included
curved tube-sheet design.
I
&
Wetrrbox
Well
Tuberheet
7
7
00000
1%
000000
i
ooooooooooo
--
-I
L-
oooooooooooo
19
~o~oyo~o~o\
Figure
10
Beam strip for rectangular tubesheet design.
(From
Ref.
78.)