Thermal-Fluid-Structure Coupling Analysis of Flexible Corrugated Cryogenic Hose

This work presents a numerical investigation of the thermal–fluid–structure coupling behavior of the liquid natural gas(LNG)transported in the flexible corrugated cryogenic hose.A three-dimensional model of the corrugated hose structure composed of multiple layers of different materials is established and coupled with turbulent LNG flow and heat transfer models in the commercial software ANSYS Workbench.The flow transport behavior,heat transfer across the hose layers,and structural response caused by the flow are analyzed.Parametric studies are performed to evaluate the impacts of inlet flow rate and thermal conductivity of insulation material on the temperature and structural stress of the corrugated hose.The study found that,compared with a regular operating condition,higher inlet flow velocities not only suppress the heat gain of the LNG but also lower the flow-induced structural stress.The insulation layer exhibits excellent performance in maintaining the temperature at the fluid–structure interface,showing little temperature change with respect to material thermal conductivity and ambient temperature.The simulation results may contribute to the research and design of the flexible corrugated cryogenic hoses and provide guidance for safer and more efficient field operations.

Electromagnetic–thermal–structural coupling analysis of the ITER edge localized mode coil with flexible supports

In a fusion reactor, the edge localized mode（ELM） coil has a mitigating effect on the ELMs of the plasma. The coil is placed close to the plasma between the vacuum vessel and the blanket to reduce its design power and improve its mitigating ability. The coil works in a high-temperature,high-nuclear-heat and high-magnetic-field environment. Due to the existence of outer superconducting coils, the coil is subjected to an alternating electromagnetic force induced by its own alternating current and the outer magnetic field. The design goal for the ELM coil is to maintain its structural integrity in the multi-physical field. Taking as an example the middle ELM coil（with flexible supports） of ITER（the International Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor）, an electromagnetic–thermal–structural coupling analysis is carried out using ANSYS. The results show that the flexible supports help the three-layer casing meet the static and fatigue design requirements. The structural design of the middle ELM coil is reasonable and feasible. The work described in this paper provides the theoretical basis and method for ELM coil design.

Thermally Induced Vibration Analysis of Flexible Beams Based on Isogeometric Analysis

Spacecraft flexible appendages may experience thermally induced vibrations(TIV)under sudden heating loads,which in consequence will be unable to complete their intended missions.Isogeometric analysis(IGA)utilizes,in an isoparametric concept,the same high order and high continuity non-uniform rational B-splines(NURBS)to represent both the geometry and the physical field of the structure.Compared to the traditional Lagrange polynomial based finite element method where only C0-continuity across elements can be achieved,IGA is geometrically exact and naturally fulfills the C1-continuity requirement of Euler–Bernoulli(EB)beam elements,therefore,does not need extra rotational degrees-of-freedom.In this paper,we present a thermally induced vibration analysis framework based on the isogeometric method where thermal and structural behaviors are coupled.We fully exploited the higher order,higher continuous and geometric exactness of the NURBS basis with both benchmarks and sophisticated problems.In particular,we studied the thermally induced vibrations of the Hubble Space Telescope(HST)solar panel where main factors influencing thermal flutters are studied,and where possible improvements of the analytical reference methods are discussed.Additionally,thermally induced vibrations of the thin-walled lenticular tubes are studied and two new configurations of the tube are proposed to effectively suppress the thermally induced vibrations.Numerical examples of both benchmarks and sophisticated problems confirm the accuracy and efficiency of the isogeometric analysis framework for thermally induced vibration analysis of space structures.