Johan Ermstål , pp. 56. ING/School of Engineering, 2012.
Two heat exchangers from TitanX are used as test objects in this thesis. When FE-calculations are made by the simulation department at TitanX a method called “Homogenization Method” is used to simplify detail modelled fins of the heat exchangers by replacing them with very few blockshaped elements. Modal analyses are performed on the heat exchangers both experimentally and numerically (FE software). The results are used to check the validity of the “Homogenization Method” which is found to have a non-sufficient correlation with reality. Improved correlation of the homogenization method was found by changing the width of the brazed joints between tubes and fins to real measured values. The modeling of the tubes is briefly investigated and changed to correlate better with reality. The orthotropic material model that is used for the homogenized material in the FE-software is found to be insufficient to represent all the properties of the homogenized material.