Abstract
Bellows are thin, flexible shell structures generally made from thin metallic sheets by hydroforming process. Bellows are generally used to provide additional flexibility in shell structures such as piping and heat exchangers. U-shaped bellows are most commonly employed to provide flexibility. One of the intended applications of metallic bellows is in the area of high-temperature and high-pressure valves. These bellows are used for sealing as well as actuation purpose in valves. Hot shutdown passive valves are planned to be used in advanced nuclear reactors to have inherent safety feature. The design of bellows is typically carried out as per the procedure recommended by Expansion Joints Manufactures Association standard. The semiempirical equations suggested by Expansion Joints Manufactures Association are used to estimate the stresses and fatigue life of bellows. Expansion Joints Manufacturers Association does not consider the effect of plasticity in the equations for the calculation of stresses and fatigue life. The bellows have complex shape, and the loading conditions in the bellows generally produce a multi-axial state of the stress. When bellows are subjected to cyclic displacement loading, the strains are usually well beyond the proportional limit of the material. Therefore, life of the bellows is typically governed by fatigue behaviour. In this study, the Masing behaviour of SS321 material was analysed and the calibration for the Chaboche constants was performed. Finite element analyses of bellows were carried out using elastic, bilinear and Chaboche material models, with and without considering the effect of geometric non-linearity. The linearized meridional membrane and bending stresses, working spring rate of the bellows and strain amplitude data were extracted from the finite element analysis of the bellows. The Expansions Joints Manufactures Association standards stress equations overestimate the stresses, which leads to conservative design. The working spring rate of bellows was accurately predicted using the Chaboche model. The strain amplitude data obtained from finite element analysis were used in the Basquin and Coffin–Manson equation to predict the fatigue life of bellows. The fatigue life was underestimated in case of all the material models, i.e., elastic, bilinear and Chaboche model.
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All the simulations were conducted by Mr. Aakash and the manuscript was prepared jointly by the author and the co-authors.
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Aakash, Dureja, A.K., Khan, I.A. et al. Finite Element Analysis of Metallic Bellows Considering Material and Geometric Non-linearity. Trans Indian Natl. Acad. Eng. 7, 645–655 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41403-021-00303-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41403-021-00303-1