Dynamic characteristics of a mistuned heat exchanger in cross-flow

The dynamic behaviors of tubes of a heat exchanger are frequently affected by the existence of local flaw. These tubes are worn from the hot-cold fluid shock waves. This local defect may alter the tube dynamics and introduce mode localization in the periodically arranged tube array. The variation of the dynamic characteristics of a component cooling water heat exchanger with wear tubes in cross-flow is investigated in this study. Periodically coupled cooling tubes are used to approximate a heat exchanger. Each tube is considered to be coupled to adjacent tubes through the squeezed water film in the gaps. This work addresses the probability of mode localization is occurring in a heat exchanger in cross-flow. A dynamic model of the coupled tube bundle is proposed. The numerical results reveal that the local defect in a tube array may introduce the so-called mode localization phenomenon in a periodically coupled tube bundle.