O’Donnell Consulting performed a structural analysis to determine the impact of oversized holes in the tube support plates of a film evaporator in a water treatment plant. These support plates, which take up over 50 percent of the vessel cross-section, are designed to TEMA standards.
During vessel fabrication, the holes for the tubes were found to be outside the recommended limits. Tube stresses, impact wear, sliding wear and fretting wear were investigated to address the concerns of the oversized holes.
