Analysis of flow-induced vibration of steam generator tubes subjected to cross flow

Highlights: • The dynamics of tubes subjected to cross flow is investigated. • A three-dimensional CFD model, coupled with a structural model is obtained. • The relationship between pitch and displacement for two tubes is analyzed. • The mutual influence of two contiguous tubes in cross flow is discussed. - Abstract: Flow-induced vibration of PWR steam generator tubes is one of the key problems to be considered in nuclear engineering. In this paper, the dynamics of tubes subjected to cross flow is investigated. A fully coupled model for fluid dynamics and structure is used to analyze this fluid–structure problem. The study begins with an analysis of a single tube subjected to cross flow, and the dynamics and flow patterns of the system are investigated. Time trace, power spectral density (PSD), phase-plane plot and Poincaré map are used to characterize the motion of the tube. Then, the dynamical behaviours of two tubes with in-line and parallel configuration are studied, and the mutual influence of the two tubes is analyzed. The relationship between pitch-to-diameter ratio and non-dimensional displacement for two contiguous tubes is investigated. Finally, the interactions within a 3 × 3 tube bundle in cross flow, and the vibration responses of the 9 tubes are investigated