“Effective Elastic Constants for Steam Generator Tube Sheets”
W. J. O’Donnell, Bettis Technical Review, No. 22, p. 1, March 1961.
Keywords: steam generator; tube sheets; effective elastic constants; ligament efficiency; thermal stresses
For purposes of analysis, perforated materials such as steam generator tube sheets are treated as solid materials having appropriate effective elastic constants (poisson ratio and elastic modulus). The values of these effective elastic constants differ for plane stress (in-plane) and bending loads, are dependent on the direction of the load with respect to the hole pattern as well as the ligament efficiency of the tube sheet.
The significance of these variations and their effect on calculated pressure and thermal stresses in the tube sheet and shell of a steam generator are examined. A single set of effective elastic constants applicable to both plane stress and bending loads on the tube sheet is presented. These constants can be used in the entire range of practical steam generator tube sheet dimensions and depend only on the ligament efficiency of the tube sheet.
Company President, Bill, Sr. has served on the ASME Subcommittee on Design, as well as a Contributing Member of the ASME (BPV III) Working Group on Fatigue Strength. He has also published numerous papers on Design, Fatigue and Fracture.
O’Donnell Consulting Performs Engineering Design and Analysis including Vibration & Fatigue Analysis for Clients in Various Industries.
