Analyse des contraintes residuelles dans les assemblages tubes-plaques tubulaires dudgeonnes par pression hydraulique

In the early 40's, most of the research work focussed on the techniques used in the tube-to tubesheet joints expansion process. Later, in the 60's the research work was dedicated to the study of the axial strength of the expanded joints. It was until the beginning of 70's, after a significant number of failures detected in several steam generators throughout the world that research began to focus on residual stresses and the degradation mechanisms of these joints. Several models have been developed to predict the contact pressure produced by the expansion process. However, a significant difference was observed between the results of these models and those obtained by finite elements or measured experimentally. Although adjustments were made by some researchers such as Allam, M. (1998a) to the equation of the residual contact pressure developed by Krips, H. (1976), the difference in the results remains significant.;A first model was developed to predict the residual contact pressure during and after the expansion process. The joint material law behaviour was initially assumed to be elastic perfectly plastic (EPP). A second model, more realistic than the first that takes into account the effect of strain hardening of the seal materials with a linear behavior (BL) was adopted for this purpose. In addition, the effects of strain hardening and the tube reverse yielding were taken into account. The results show that the residual contact pressure is very sensitive to initial clearance and the tube tangent modulus. In comparison with the finite element models, the results are in good agreement and significantly better than existing models. Finally, a third analytical model was developed to predict the effect of the creep on the residual stress relaxation and its influence on the in-service residual contact pressure. The results of this model and those obtained by the finite elements show that during service, the reduction of the residual contact pressure can reach 16.6% in the case of stationary creep and 85.7% in the event of a shut-down after creep has taken place. The good agreement between the results of the new model and those of finite elements gives a high confidence in the reliability and accuracy of the developed analytical models.;Key words: Hydraulic expansion, tube-to-tubesheet joint, residual stress, residual contact pressure, strain hardening, creep, relaxation.;A literature review has revealed that the effects of the tube strain hardening material and the relaxation of residual stresses in service have not been adequately considered in the design of the expanded joint. Therefore a more accurate model taking into account these parameters is needed to better predict the residual pressure. Three analytical models capable of predicting the contact pressure during the manufacturing process and its variation during service were developed.