Paper Title
Finite Element Analysis of Heat Exchanger with NTIW Tubesheet

Abstract
In order to reduce the pressure drop and mitigate vibration, No Tubes in Window (NTIW) bundle configuration is used in heat exchanger. However, this configuration has significant effect on the mechanical design of the tubesheet. Method proposed in ASME Section VIII Div.1 is widely used for designing the tubesheet with different configuration. ASME method mainly consists of analytical formulas based on consideration of equivalent properties for perforated zone and applicability of this method is limited to the plate which is uniformly perforated up to Outer tube limit (OTL) of the tubesheet. Therefore this type of configuration (NTIW) is generally design by stress analysis using finite element analysis (FEA) method. Modeling complete heat exchanger (3D model) creates huge size FEA model and hence results in more computation time. This paper mainly discusses the advantages and limitations of axisymmetric model with respect to 3D model for designing the NTIW tubesheet of heat exchanger. Keywords: Tubesheet, No Tubes in Window (NTIW), ASME, Heat Exchanger, Finite Element Analysis.