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Investigation of Fatigue Characteristics for Heat Exchanger Tube in Air Conditioner: Effect of Surface Defect and Environmental Factor

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to quantitatively analyze the static and fatigue characteristics of the repeated welding, operating temperatures, and surface defects (notches) in tubes with Al3003-O aluminum, which is applied to the heat exchangers. In particular, fatigue characteristics on actual aluminum tubes are evaluated. It was confirmed the grain size increases and the hardness decreases due to changes in the internal structure as the number of repeated welding increases. The fatigue limit of the aluminum tube at the operating temperature was 49.02 MPa which was lower than the room temperature. Also, the fatigue limit of the notched aluminum tube is measured to be 29.37 MPa which is reduced compared to that of the specimens without a notch; the fatigue notch factor is 1.67. Based on the Peterson equation, the material constants were derived by combining the results (fatigue notch factor, etc.) obtained through analysis and experiments. Derived material constants allow the prediction of fatigue limits for various defect (notch) sizes that may occur during the manufacturing and assembly of the heat exchanger.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2021R1I1A3044394, PI: Prof. Jaehyeok Doh).

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  1. Changwan Han and Jaehyeok Doh contributed equally as the corresponding authors to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technology Strategy Team, Korea Aerospace Industries, Sacheon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 52529, Republic of Korea

    Changwan Han

  2. School of Mechanical and Material Convergence Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 52725, Republic of Korea

    Jaehyeok Doh

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  1. Changwan Han
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Correspondence to Changwan Han or Jaehyeok Doh.

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Han, C., Doh, J. Investigation of Fatigue Characteristics for Heat Exchanger Tube in Air Conditioner: Effect of Surface Defect and Environmental Factor. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 24, 867–875 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-023-00793-9

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