A study on the shape optimization of ship's bellows

선박용 벨로우즈의 형상최적화에 관한 연구

The mechanical properties of bellows, such as the extensibility and the strength can be changed depending on the shape. For the shipbuilding material, it is favorable that the fatigue life is long due to the elastic property and the reduction of thermal stress in piping system. Nowadays, the domestic production and design of bellows are based on the E.J.M.A Code. Therefore, the design standard is in need because of much errors and lack of detailed analysis. In this study, it is attempted to find out the optimal shape of U-type bellows using the finite element method. The effective factors, mountain height, length, thickness, and number of mountains and the length of joint are considered and the proper values are chosen for the simulation. The results shows that if the number of mountains are reduced, the volume decreases while the stress increases. However, the number of mountains are increased, the volume increases above the standard volume and the stress obviously increases. In addition, the effect of the thickness of bellows on the stress is very large. Both of the volume and stress are decreasing at a certain lower value region.