Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

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Nuclear Engineering and Design

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Assessment of flow induced vibration in a sodium–sodium

heat exchanger
V. Prakash ∗ , M. Thirumalai, R. Prabhakar, G. Vaidyanathan
Fast Reactor Technology Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is under construction at Kalpakkam. It is a
Received 24 June 2008 liquid metal sodium cooled pool type fast reactor with all primary components located inside a
Received in revised form sodium pool. The heat produced due to fission in the core is transported by primary sodium to
30 September 2008
the secondary sodium in a sodium to sodium Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX), which in turn
Accepted 8 October 2008
is transferred to water in the steam generator. PFBR IHX is a shell and tube type heat exchanger
with primary sodium on shell side and secondary sodium in the tube side. Since IHX is one of
the critical components placed inside the radioactive primary sodium, trouble-free operation of the
IHX is very much essential for power plant availability. To validate the design and the adequacy
of the support system provided for the IHX, flow induced vibration (FIV) experiments were carried
out in a water test loop on a 60◦ sector model. This paper discusses the flow induced vibration
measurements carried out in 60◦ sector model of IHX, the modeling criteria, the results and conclu-
sion.
© 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is under
construction at Kalpakkam. It is a liquid metal sodium cooled pool
type fast reactor with all primary components located inside a
sodium pool. The heat produced due to fission in the core is trans-
ported by primary sodium to the secondary sodium in a sodium
to sodium Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX), which in turn is
transferred to water in steam generator (SG).
The Intermediate Heat Exchanger of Prototype Fast Breeder
Reactor (Fig. 1) consists of tube bundle having 1782 straight tubes
of 24 mm OD × 1 mm wall thick rolled and welded to tube sheets
at both ends. The tubes are arranged in circular pitch in 18 con-
centric rows around central down comer (radial/circumferential
pitch being 30/31.4 mm). It is a shell and tube type heat exchanger
with primary sodium on shell side and secondary sodium on tube
side. The primary sodium enters at 817 K radially at top, flows
vertically down and finally leaves at 667 K to the cold pool. The
secondary sodium enters through a central down comer pipe takes
180◦ turn at bottom end then enters the tube at 628 K and leaves at
798 K.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 27480500x22616; fax: +91 44 27480311.
E-mail addresses: prakash@igcar.gov.in, mtl@igcar.gov.in (V. Prakash).
In the IHX, the tubes see cross flow at inlet and outlet loca-
tions. The experimental study by Pettigrew et al. (1978) and also
by Gorman (1978) clearly emphasize that the main flow induced
vibration (FIV) mechanisms in cross flow regions are periodic vortex
shedding, random excitation due to turbulence and the fluid elas-
tic instability. Other than inlet and outlet, the flow is parallel to the
tube along the remaining part of IHX with a weak excitation due to
turbulence. Tube design is checked for FIV, based on analyses as per
ASME APPENDIX-N. Using finite element techniques (ANSYS, 2001),
the IHX tube support system is designed to provide adequate mar-
gin against flow induced vibrations. In French Super-Phenix nuclear
reactor during IHX flow induced vibration testing it was observed
that instability was due to an excessive cross flow velocity in the
second span caused by the wrong location of a support (Technical
Reports, 1989). It is also reported in one of the Japanese nuclear
reactors that improper insertion of anti-vibration belt by a fabri-
cation engineer lead to the failure of SG tube by FIV and leak of
primary radioactive coolant (Failure knowledge database). These
experiences indicate that the testing programme must be rigor-
ously implemented for radioactive nuclear components. In our FIV
programme Experiments were conducted in water test loop on a
60◦ sector model IHX to validate the design and also to demonstrate
our competence in fabrication and manufacturing methodology
and inspection followed in the right direction to give confidence to
our manufacturing industry and also to our component designer.
The 60◦ sector model was selected based on uniformity of flow

0029-5493/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2008.10.007
170 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

2.1.2. Fluid elastic instability

Nomenclature When tubes in a bundle undergo a small amplitude of vibra-
tion, the flowing fluid is capable of imparting to them driving
PFBR Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor forces which are proportional to the amplitude of displacement
Re Reynolds number and square of the fluid velocity. These forces impart certain
RMS root mean square value amount of energy to the tubes per cycle, at the same time damp-
PDF probability density function ing forces considered to be viscous remove a certain amount of
FFT fast Fourier transform energy per cycle. When the fluid velocity reaches a critical level,
IHX Intermediate Heat Exchanger the quantity of energy added equals to that dissipated due to
Sv Strouhal number damping and very large vibration amplitude results at flow veloc-
PSD power spectral density ities equal to or greater than this critical velocity. Frequency of
Pk peak value vibration due to fluid elastic instability is close to the natural
SG steam generator frequency of the tube and the displacement is generally along
the lift direction (Simonis and Steininger; Soper). Critical veloc-
ity for fluid elastic instability was found to be nearly same from
theoretical predictions for both Prototype IHX and the model
distribution. The FIV measurements were preceded by modal mea-
and hence testing at nominal flow condition is adequate since
surements on a three-tube model in air (Prakash et al., 1995). This
the margin between nominal velocity and critical velocity will
paper discusses the flow induced vibration measurements carried
be properly simulated. However to check the design conserva-
out on the IHX sector model, the modeling criteria, the results and
conclusion.

2. Modeling criteria

2.1. Excitation mechanism and response simulation

For proper modeling, the excitation mechanisms such as peri-

odic vortex shedding, fluid elastic instability and random excitation
due to turbulence and the mechanical response of the tube must
be properly simulated between the prototype unit and the model.
Since sodium testing is complex and involves transducer which has
to work in sodium at high temperatures, fortunately the sodium
properties such as density and viscosity are comparable with water,
the model was tested in water.
When water is used as the test fluid,
Re for 60◦ sector model (water at 333 K) = 6.2 × 10E + 04 (at
583 m3 /h).
Re for Prototype IHX at 673 K = 12.7 × 10E + 04 (at 3500 m3 /h)
For this range of fully turbulent regime of Reynolds number,
Strouhal number is independent of Re and is essentially a func-
tion of tube layout, as reported by Shin and Wambganss (1977), is
maintained same in the model and the prototype.

2.1.1. Vortex shedding

When fluid flows across a single cylinder or bank of tubes, vor-
tices are formed in the wake behind the tube. Periodic shedding
of the vortices from the tube surface results in an oscillating force
excitation on the tube. This vortex shedding frequency is defined
by

SV V
fV =
d0

where SV – Strouhal number, fV – vortex shedding frequency, d0 –

outer diameter of the tube and V – cross flow velocity.
With Strouhal similitude between model and prototype, the vor-
tex shedding frequency calculated at the nominal flow of 3500 m3 /h
in Prototype IHX is the same as the corresponding 1/6th flow (the
nominal flow of 583 m3 /h) in the model. However the natural fre-
quency for the tubes in the model (first mode as well as isolated
first span frequency) is slightly higher for the tube-empty condi-
tion and hence it is necessary to test the model at a higher flow to
maintain fn /fvortex constant, where fn is the natural frequency of the
tube. For this condition the required test flow rate is calculated as
690 m3 /h (Shin and Wambganss, 1977). Fig. 1. Prototype IHX.
 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179 171

Fig. 2. IHX hydraulic test model.

tively against fluid elastic instability, experiments are done at 2.2. Tube natural frequency
water flow rate, which takes into account the differences in den-
sity, added mass coefficient and damping between water and The natural frequency of the tube is given by
sodium. 
K EI
fn =
L2 M0
2.1.3. Turbulent excitation mechanism
The turbulent excitation mechanism is not very sensitive to where fn – natural frequency of the tube, K – constant whose value
changes in Re when flow is fully turbulent as reported by Beavers depends on end. Support condition: L – length of tube between
and Plunkett (1974). The scale of turbulence intensity, defined supports, E – modulus of elasticity, I – moment of inertia of the
as the ratio of the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations tube, M0 – virtual mass of the tube/unit length, where M0 is given
to the bulk average velocity, is a weak function of Re (Beavers by:
and Plunkett, 1974). Both in Prototype and in the model the M0 = mass of tube + mass of fluid inside the tube + C × mass of
flow is in fully turbulent regime as indicated in the Section fluid outside the tube, where C is the added mass coefficient for the
2.1. given tube layout.
172 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

Table 1
√
Comparison of E/m values for model and prototype.
√
Location E (Pa) (× 1011 ) M total (kg/m) E/m (× 105 ) Ratio with model

Model 2 1.56 3.58 1

IHX inlet (prototype) 1.64 1.40 3.42 0.96
IHX outlet (prototype) 1.82 1.45 3.54 0.98

In prototype, sodium is flowing around the tubes at a tem-
perature range of 667–817 K, whereas in the model the tubes
are surrounded by water at 303–323 K. The fluid inside the tube
is sodium in case of PFBR, whereas in the model the tubes are
empty (air). It is preferable to have the ratio of modulus of elas-
ticity to mass per unit length (E/m) as close as possible in the
model and the prototype so that the natural frequency could
be simulated in the model without much variation in the span
length. The material used in the prototype is SS 316 LN. The
√
above value E/m is computed for the model with Carbon steel
as material and compared with that of prototype (Table 1). Carbon
steel material satisfies the condition and hence is selected for the
model.
It is normal practice that heat exchanger models are tested at
25% higher flows to ensure that design-operating conditions are
sufficiently separated from any thresholds of instability (Shin and
Wambganss, 1977). Hence FIV testing was carried out upto 125% of
the nominal flow.
2.3. Model details and response prediction
Fig. 2 illustrates the sector model. Location of anti-vibration
belts in prototype and in the model and details of anti-vibration
belt support are shown in Figs. 3 and 4 respectively. The anti-
vibration belt/ferrule support provides effective line contact
support for this type of tube arrangements. Table 2 com-
pares the salient design features between prototype and the
model.
In the sector model, tube diameter, circumferential and radial
pitch, number of tube rows, inlet and outlet window dimen-

Fig. 3. Anti-vibration belt locations.

 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179 173

Fig. 4. Anti-vibration belt support details.

Table 2 3. Experimental facility and measurements

PFBR-IHX and the sector model – a comparison.

Description Prototype IHX Model 3.1. Description of test loop

◦
Cross section of tube bundle Circular 60 sector
Number of tubes 1782 315 Sector model was installed in a 300 mm diameter size pipe water
Number of tube rows 18 18 loop (Fig. 8) having a circulating pump rated for a flow of 1000 m3 /h
Tube OD/ID (mm) 24/22 24/22
Circumferential pitch 31.4 mm 31.4 mm
Radial pitch (mm) 30 30
Tube length (mm) 6980 4600
Tube material SS 316 LN Carbon steel
No. of anti-vibration belts 5 3
Span Fig. 3 Fig. 3

sions, type of anti-vibration belt and tube to tube sheet joint

were maintained identical to prototype. However due to the
availability of only shorter tubes (4600 mm) the number of
anti-vibration belts and their locations were selected in the
sector model to nearly match the prototype first mode fre- Fig. 5. First mode shape.

quency, treating the tube as a continuous beam, and the

isolated inlet span natural frequency. This data is given in
Table 3.

2.4. Analytical prediction

Dynamic analysis of the tube support system was carried

out using ANSYS code. Tube to tube sheet joint was treated
as fixed end condition and anti-vibration belt supports were
treated as pinned, based on modal measurements carried out
earlier on three-tube model (Prakash et al., 1995). Figs. 5–7
illustrate the mode shapes theoretically predicted for tube bun- Fig. 6. Second mode shape.
dle in sector model with both shell and tube sides filled with
water.

Table 3
Natural frequency estimates for PFBR-IHX and sector model.

Mode Sector model PFBR-IHX

(Hz)
Shell side water filled Shell and tube side
and tube side empty (Hz) water filled (Hz)

First 21.5 21.2 21.2

Second 55.9 46.5 30.4
Third 79.9 66.6 47.8
Fig. 7. Third mode shape.
174 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

1 corresponds to inner most row and row 18 corresponds to out-

ermost row. All accelerometer instrumented tubes were closed at
the bottom to prevent entry of water.
The important specifications of strain gages used are given
below:
Type: Micro measurement foil strain gage
Gage factor: 1.8
Gage resistance: 120 
Size: 6 mm × 3 mm grid size
Strain gages were bonded to the outer surface of the tubes using
cyanoacrylate compound and water protected with silicon rubber
and araldite.
Salient specifications of the accelerometers are given below:

Model: B&K 4393 Piezoelectric Accelerometer

Sensitivity: −3.1 pC/g
Frequency range: −0.2 to 12,000 Hz

Instruments were calibrated before and after the FIV mea-

surement using programmable oscillator and FFT analyzer.
Accelerometer sensitivity was obtained from the calibration certifi-
cates provided by the manufacturer. Accelerometers are calibrated
in comparison with a reference accelerometer by back to back
method. The overall accuracy for the sensitivity value is ±2%.

3.3. Instrument schematic and measurement setup

Instrumentation schematic for FIV measurements are shown

Fig. 8. IHX sector model test loop.
and a pressure of 1.5 kg/cm2 . Flow through the model was con-
trolled by adjusting the pump bypass valve and the butterfly valve
in the discharge pipeline. Flow was measured using an anubar type
flow meter which averages the velocity across the pipe cross sec-
tion. The range of the flow meter is 250–1500 m3 /h, and the overall
accuracy of flow measurement was ±1%.
Flexible rubber bellows were installed between the loop pipe
and the model inlet/outlet nozzle to minimize the transmission of
external vibrations into the model. Model was also mounted on
the isolated structure with rubber and asbestos sheets placed in
between to act as vibration isolators.
3.2. FIV transducers
in Fig. 10 for both the accelerometer and strain gage channels. A
two-channel FFT analyzer was used for estimating power spec-
tral density (PSD) and calculating the probability density function
(PDF).
Measurements with analyzer were generally carried out with
following settings:
Window: Hanning
Frequency: 400 Hz
Number of data points: 1024
Resolution: 1 Hz
Number of averages: 50 (0% overlap)
Power spectral density plots obtained from accelerometer
is in acceleration units (Y-axis in PSD plots). For obtaining the
displacement levels at any frequency (f), area under PSD curve
around a particular frequency was found and the resulting acceler-
ation levels were converted to displacement level using following
relationship. Displacement = acceleration/42 f2 , where f is the
frequency of excitation.

Tubes in the sector model which are instrumented are shown

Table 4
in Fig. 9. Only the first (inlet) and second spans were per- Location of permanently mounted transducers in sector model.
manently instrumented based on the analysis and also by the
results obtained from the earlier modal measurements on three- Row Tube no. Transducer Span Sensitive direction of
vibration measurement
tube model (Prakash et al., 1995). Three tubes were fitted with
permanent shoe mounted accelerometers and eight tubes were 18 295 Strain gage 1 and 2 Parallel and perpendicular
to flow direction
instrumented with strain gages. In addition, vibration measure-
18 297 Accelerometer 1 and 2 Perpendicular to flow
ments were taken with retractable spring mounted accelerometers direction
in more number of tubes. Fourth (outlet) span, in which cross flow 18 302 Strain gage 1 and 2 Parallel and perpendicular
takes place, was not instrumented since this span was short and 18 308 Accelerometer 1 and 2 Perpendicular
very stiff. Location of the permanently mounted accelerometers 18 310 Strain gage 1 and 2 Perpendicular
17 274 Strain gage 2 Perpendicular
and strain gages are given in Table 4. 17 277 Accelerometer 2 Parallel and perpendicular
In Table 4, parallel flow refers to drag direction and perpen- 17 280 Strain gage 1 and 2 Perpendicular
dicular flow refers to lift direction. First span refers to transducer 14 205 Strain gage 2 Perpendicular
center 585 mm from bottom of top tube sheet. Second span refers 10 130 Strain gage 2 Parallel and perpendicular
4 37 Strain gage 2 Perpendicular
to transducer center 1750 mm from bottom of top tube sheet. Row
 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179 175

Fig. 9. Instrumented tubes in sector model.

3.4. Back ground noise level

Before commencing FIV measurements, electronic noise level

for transducer, amplifier and filter was measured without any vibra-
tion source being present and results are given in Table 5. Back
ground noise level was very low and was not expected to interfere
with FIV measurements.

3.5. FIV experiments

Vibration measurements were carried out for flows ranging

from 30% to 125% of nominal flow. First, the permanently mounted
instrument signals were recorded. Subsequently retractable spring
mounted accelerometers were used to measure the vibration in
different tubes. In some of the selected tubes measurements were
Fig. 10. Instrumentation schematic.
carried out along its entire length. Finally flow sweep test was also

Table 5
Electronic background noise (RMS).

Sensor Overall level m/s2 (5–300 Hz) Equivalent displacement (␮m) Levels in different frequency bands (␮m)

25.3–39 Hz 30.27–47.5 Hz 39–54.7 Hz 51.7–72.2 Hz 54.7–76 Hz

Accelerometer 0.027 0.27 0.016 0.017 0.16 0.007 0.007

Strain gages Overall background strain level <0.4 microstrain
176 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

Fig. 11. PSD plots of vibration signal.

Fig. 13. PSD plots of vibration signal.

carried out to ascertain the model free from any instability mech-
anism. In the first span, peaks occur around the third mode
and higher modal frequencies, while in the second span,
4. Results and discussions peaks occur around second and third modal frequencies. In
the sector model the end spans are short and fixed at one
PSD plots of the vibration signals from the permanently end to the tube sheet. So in this case, the vibration fre-
mounted accelerometers are given in Figs. 11–15 for a few typical quencies excited by cross flow is one of the higher modes.
flow rates.

Fig. 12. PSD plots of vibration signal. Fig. 14. PSD plots of vibration signal.
 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179 177

Fig. 17. PSD plots of vibration signal.

Fig. 15. PSD plots of vibration signal.

This phenomenon was observed in the experimental results

(Figs. 11–15).
Generally overall vibration levels are low. At higher flows ampli-
tude of vibration levels increase and peaks also tend to become
broader and spectra also show closely spaced peaks. This result
clearly confirms that turbulence buffeting occurs at all shell side
flows and tubes can be considered to extract energy from the tur-
bulent field, acting as a filter, in frequency band centered about
the modal frequencies of tubes. When an array of closely spaced
tubes vibrates in a liquid medium, fluid structure coupling occurs
and this results in coupled modes with closely spaced frequencies
(Wambganss, 1987; Collins and Winn, 1982).
When the excitation changes over from random excitation due
to turbulence to a predominantly periodic one due to vortex shed-
ding or instability, the PSD plots will also change from broad
multiple peak spectra to definite and sharper peak correspond-
ing to a modal frequency of excitation (Wambganss, 1987). Such
a trend was not at all observed at flows upto 125% of the nomi-
nal flow in this experiment. The overall vibration (acceleration) is
plotted with flow for tube no. 305 at its first span in Fig. 16. Modal
Fig. 18. PDF plots of vibration signal.
amplitudes were computed over a band of frequency around the
modal frequencies.
In tube no. 272, measurements were carried out in the third
span using the retractable spring mounted accelerometer at dif-
ferent flows, and it was observed that the first modal frequency
of 25.1 Hz (Fig. 17) was excited in the span. It is clear from the
spectra, in this span all three modes of vibration are excited.
No resonance behavior was observed and the vibration levels
at first mode were less than 10 ␮m (RMS) over the test flow
range.
Fig. 18 shows the probability density function plots of the tube
vibration signal. This PDF plot indicates that the excitation is ran-
dom in nature caused by turbulence. Periodic excitation due to
vortex shedding or fluid elastic instability was not indicated in any
of the PDF plots recorded in the experiment.

Table 6
Overall vibration level (RMS) in different rows of tubes.

Row Tube Location 330 Cum/h 635 Cum/h 830 Cum/h

m/s 2
␮m m/s 2
␮m m/s2 ␮m

1 2 Edge 0.43 17.4 0.24 9.6 0.28 11.3

2 15 Center 0.45 18.3 0.23 9.2 0.24 9.6
5 43 Edge 0.51 20.5 0.31 12.7 0.32 13.1
7 77 Center 0.41 16.6 0.25 10 0.27 10.8
11 152 Edge 0.41 16.6 0.22 8.7 0.34 14.0
13 185 Center 0.38 15.3 0.25 10 0.45 18.3
15 220 Edge 0.51 20.5 0.31 12.7 0.51 20.5
16 254 Center 0.40 16.1 0.38 15.3 0.77 31.4
17 284 Mid Center 0.62 25.2 0.39 15.7 0.71 8.8
18 291 Edge 0.59 24 0.33 13.5 0.57 23.1
Fig. 16. Flow vs acceleration.
178 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179

Table 7
Overall vibration amplitude with varying flow (RMS).

Tube Accelerometer Unit Flow (Cum/h)

0 335 430 520 630 750 835 950 1040 1175

308 First span (lift) m/s2 0.75 0.8 0.65 0.7 0.74 0.84 0.7 0.86 1.29 1.78
␮m 30 32 26 28 30 34 28 34 52 72

308 Second span (lift) m/s2 0.72 0.55 0.4 0.39 0.39 0.5 0.47 0.63 0.86 1.26
␮m 29 22 16 16 16 20 19 25 35 51

297 First span (lift) m/s2 0.99 1.21 1.06 0.58 0.52 0.77 0.69 0.95 1.23 1.79
␮m 40 49 42 23 21 31 28 38 50 73

297 Second span (lift) m/s2 0.5 0.48 0.41 0.4 0.44 0.47 0.51 0.66 0.90 1.22
␮m 20 19 16 16 18 19 20 26 37 50

277 Second span (lift) m/s2 – 0.33 0.28 0.25 0.25 0.27 0.3 0.37 0.72 1.1
␮m 13.4 11.6 10.1 10.1 10.8 12 15.1 29.3 44.2

277 Second span (drag) m/s2 – 0.8 – 0.5 0.4 0.48 0.5 0.6 0.83 1.2
␮m 32 20 16 19 20 24 33 48

4.1. Vibration level of tubes in different rows
In order to find out variation in overall tube vibrations across the
tube bundles, measurements were carried out in the first span of 10
tubes located in different rows. Carriage-mounted accelerometer
was used in these measurements. The measurement direction was
perpendicular to flow axis. The observed results are given in Table 6.
As expected vibration values decrease from outer to inner rows in
the same direction the flow passes in the model.
in the first span, where the cross flow takes place. The over-
all equivalent displacement shown in the table is a conservative
estimate and this corresponds to the displacement at the first
modal frequency (25.1 Hz) which would give the overall accel-
eration levels measured. Vibration levels in the second span of
the tube 277 indicate that levels in the drag direction are more
than that in the lift direction (Table 7). This must be due to
the random turbulent excitation being the main source of vibra-
tion.

4.2. Flow vs overall vibration amplitude

Overall level of vibration (m/s2 – RMS) and the equivalent
displacement (␮m – RMS) as a function of flow rate are given
in Table 7 for the permanently mounted accelerometers in the
tube. Vibration levels are low in second span compared to that
4.3. Flow vs overall vibration level (tube filled with water and the
effect of added mass on vibration and damping)
Results obtained from the FIV experiments carried out with
tubes empty, indicated that there is no vibration problem even
when the model was tested at flows much higher than the desired
from modeling considerations. In the measurements carried out
with tubes filled with water, the vibration levels were low and no
resonance phenomenon was observed. In tube 308 there is a small
reduction in overall vibration level when filled with water prob-
ably due to added mass and increase in damping effect. Fig. 19
compares the acceleration spectra at 830 and 1040 m3 /h flows
for tube 308 (first span) when the tube was filled with water
and when it was empty. Spectral frequencies shift to lower side
(78 to 69 Hz) due to added mass effect. These results are input
to the designer for qualifying the assumptions made in the esti-
mation of natural frequency and its variation due to added mass
effect.

Fig. 19. Comparison of PSD-empty and filled tube. Fig. 20. Vibration amplitude along tube length.
 V. Prakash et al. / Nuclear Engineering and Design 239 (2009) 169–179
Fig. 21. Flow sweep test results.
4.4. Measurement of vibrations along the tube length (tube filled
with water)
Using the carriage-mounted accelerometer, vibration measure-
ments along the lift direction were carried out in tubes 305 and 281
over their entire length at 100 mm increments.
For tube 281, based on overall measurements power spectral
density plots were obtained to find out the variation in different
frequency bands. In both tubes 305 and 281 highest vibrations
occurred in the inlet (first) span. Vibration level of 72 ␮m (RMS)
in the first span of tube 281 in the frequency band of 15–30 Hz
is the highest individual component recorded among all measure-
ments when tube is filled with water. The resulting bending stress
calculated (4 MPa) is much less than the endurance limit for the
tube material. Experimentally obtained vibration amplitude along
the tube length for tube 287 is given in Fig. 20.
4.5. Flow sweep test
Flow was gradually increased from around 40% to 125% of the
nominal flow and then gradually decreased to 40% of the nominal
flow. RMS value of the accelerometer output signal, measured with
a true RMS meter was plotted on a Y-T recorder and the flow val-
ues were subsequently marked on the time axis. Fig. 21 shows the
result from the flow sweep test for the first span accelerometer in
tube 297. No sudden increase in vibration due to resonance (vortex
shedding) was observed in the test.
5. Conclusion
Vibration measurements were carried out upto 125% of the
design flow and vibration spectra were acquired in different tubes
located at different rows.
(1) The modal frequencies excited were in good agreement with
the analytically predicted values.
(2) From the PSD, PDF and flow sweep test, it is inferred that the
excitation is random in nature caused by turbulence and no
instability phenomenon is observed.
(3) The maximum vibration values of different rows are compara-
ble (Table 6) almost with little variation and vibration levels are
lower in the tubes of inner rows.
179
(4) The maximum vibration value is recorded in tube no. 281 in the
first span (72 ␮m RMS at 125% of nominal flow). The resulting
bending stress (4 MPa) is much less than the endurance limit
for the tube material.
(5) As expected, the magnitude of vibration in the outlet regions is
less compared to the inlet region.
(6) Though the vibration levels are low, these types of experiments
are necessary to validate the design and also to demonstrate
that fabrication and manufacturing methodology and inspec-
tion followed is in the right direction and also to qualify the
nuclear components against flow induced vibration.
In the light of the above, it is concluded that the IHX support
system is adequate with sufficient margin and design is safe against
flow induced vibration.
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