DEVELOPMENT OF STRESS INDICES FOR ECCENTRIC REDUCERS.
Abstract
Stress indices have been developed for a number of piping system components. However, little data is available for eccentric reducers. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a finite element analysis used to obtain stress indices for eccentric reducers. Results are obtained for both mechanical and thermal loadings. A study was first made to determine the range of parameters for typically manufactured reducers. Based on this study, a range of parameters was selected and 36 reducers were analyzed. The resulting analyses were processed to determine stress indices. Only reducers in the thin shell category were treated and bending and stretching elements with six degrees of freedom were utilized. Stress indices were then plotted to determine the effect of various parameters. Approximate equations were obtained for indices as a function of the key parameters.