A study on thermal stress deformation using analytical methods based on the temperature distribution of storage material in a rotary air-preheater

Thermal stress deformation is an inherent disadvantage of operating rotary air-preheaters, resulting in the leakage of fluids and a decrease in the efficiency of the preheated system. To evaluate the degree of deformation during operation, a mathematical model of the storage material is established and the temperature distribution is calculated by solving a developed model. Using this method, the effect of dimensionless parameters on the temperature distribution of a rotary air-preheater was investigated. The thermal stress distributions in the rotary air-preheater are then formulated using an analytical method by solving coordination, structural and geometrical equations. In addition, the boundary condition is successively used. Experimental results are obtained by employing factorial design values of the rotary air-preheater for the analysis of the calculation data. Good agreement was obtained by comparing the analytical data with the experimental data, which showed that the relative error is narrowed in the range of 1–5%. In order to undertake an adequate adjustment of thermal stress deformation, a number of conclusions have also been reached, while online monitoring of the clearance of radial seals is proposed.