No abstract

In the first part of this series, experimental data were presented which suggest that the acoustic resonance in heat exchanger tube bundles is tied to periodic vortex shedding from the tubes. In this paper, a semi-empirical model for predicting the onset of resonance is developed. This model is compared with experimental data and other models from the literature. Methods of suppressing the resonance are developed and experimental data on their effectiveness are presented.

The intense acoustic resonance resulting from gas flow across a bank of heat exchanger tubes in a duct has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. At low gas velocities, the acoustic tone emanating from tube bundles increases in proportion to the flow velocity. When the frequency approaches a bound acoustic transverse mode of the tube bundle, intense sound can result. Sound levels as high as 173 db were measured within the bundle. During resonance, the sound correlates vortex shedding from the tubes and the pressure drop increases in some bundles.