OPTIMIZATION FOR STIFFENERS OF RECTANGULAR SURFACE CONDENSER OPERATING UNDER DIFFERENTIAL EXTERNAL PRESSURE

Yogesh S. Bhore, Dattatray N. Jadhav, Parag D. Mahajan, Sagar S. Mali

Abstract: Surface condenser operates under differential external pressure during its service life which causes deformation of equipment. Stiffening arrangements are provided in condenser to restrict deformation of equipment within allowable limit. Condenser is the equipment having lot of internals like heater tube, protruded nozzles, baffles, inside piping etc. So, it is essential to optimize location and size of stiffeners. In the present study sub-assembly of rectangular surface condenser is analysed for optimization of stiffener size. Response surface optimization along with design of experiment methodology is used for stiffener optimization. Design of experiment is carried out with the help of central composite design method. Optimization of stiffener size and location of the stiffener helps to reduce obstruction to steam flow in condenser.

Keywords: Response surface optimization, Design of experiment, Central Composite design, Screening optimization, Finite Element Method.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2015.0408068