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• Study on Nonlinear Behavior of Variable Thickness Plates

  72-80

  Lan Hoang That Ton

  Views:

  283

  The analysis of variable-thickness plates is much more complicated than that of uniform-thickness plates because variable coefficients occur in the equations. In reality, this analysis is of great interest in various engineering disciplines, such as civil engineering, aerospace engineering, machine design, and so on. Although there is extensive literature on analyses of plates with constant thickness, a rather limited amount of technical literature is available on the solutions to problems dealing with plates with nonuniform thickness. The reason is that the analytical solutions meet insurmountable difficulties. Besides, the nonlinear analysis process also faces more difficulties than the linear analysis of structures. For these reasons, the nonlinear behavior of variable-thickness plates based on a finite element procedure is presented in this study. Although the topic is not special, it will help the engineer have a specific view of the nonlinear bending of the plate with variable thickness. This survey will be based on the change in geometrical parameters. Numerical solutions are then presented to verify the simplicity of this proposed procedure.

• Sealing Performance of Beam Tube Flange Connections Under Internal Pressure and External Bending Loads

  1-19

  Usman Aslam

  Kamran Ahmed Khan

  Waqqas Ahmad

  Views:

  102

  Pipe flange connections are critical components in nuclear and petrochemical facilities, where reliable sealing and structural integrity are essential for safe operation. In research on open-pool reactors, ion beam tubes represent a specialized application of flange-connected pressure boundaries. This study investigated the structural response and sealing performance of a beam tube–flange assembly using three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis. The beam tube was evaluated under two operating conditions: an empty configuration and a configuration subjected to externally applied mechanical loads. Stress analysis indicated that the maximum Von Mises stress in the beam tube remained well below the material yield strength and satisfied the design deformation limit of 3 mm for both loading scenarios. Sealing performance assessment of the flange joint showed a bolt stress variation of 23 MPa, which remained within acceptable design limits. The corresponding gasket stress variation was 0.49 MPa, with maximum and minimum gasket stresses were within the recommended operating range of 1.4–8 MPa. Time-dependent analysis revealed gasket stress relaxation of 3.5% for the empty beam tube and 3.78% for the externally loaded case. The finite element results were validated using analytical models, demonstrating good agreement with discrepancies ranging from 0.01% to 5.8%. The findings confirmed the structural adequacy and sealing reliability of the beam tube–flange assembly under the investigated operating conditions, providing a robust basis for safe design and operation in research reactor applications.