| Abstract: | The residual contact pressure in a rolled tube-tubesheet joint is calculated for several practical tube-tubesheet size and material selections. The analysis follows the elastic-plastic strain history during the tube expansion process. It accounts also for the initial gap size, reversed yielding, and material strain-hardening of both the tube and the tubesheet. The residual contact pressure is expressed as a function of the degree of expansion of the tube. The inside diameter of the tube after rolling (apparent wall reduction) is chosen as the measure of the expansion. Plots of the residual contact pressure versus the apparent wall reduction show that in all cases the contact pressure attains most of its value within 3–6% of the apparent wall reduction. Further rolling is of no benefit to the residual contact pressure. |
