Modeling of the Wear of Tube–Spacer Comb Interfacing in the Steam Generator of a Lead-Cooled Reactor

One of the predicted disruptions in the normal functioning of steam generators in a lead-cooled reactor over a long period of operation is depressurization of the heat-exchange tubes. The most likely tube failure sites are the tube–spacer comb interfacing zones. The oscillatory motion of the tubes in the lead coolant makes it necessary to study the fretting of the tube material. We describe the structural features of the setup modeling the interaction of the heat-exchange tubes and the spacer comb provided that the heatengineering properties of the lead coolant are the same and the material and structure features of the interfacings are the same. The experimental data on the wear of heat-exchange tubes that serve as the basis for theoretical modeling of their fretting are presented.