Tube sheet that also serves as a flange – what impact does the flange portion have on the tube sheet?

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When the tube sheet also serves as a flange, the flange torque acts not only on the flange itself but also extends to act on the tube sheet, thereby imposing an additional torque on it. Therefore, when calculating the tube sheet, in addition to considering the equivalent pressure of the shell side and tube side design pressures as well as the equivalent expansion pressure caused by the different thermal expansions of the tubes and the shell, the equivalent bolt connection pressure resulting from flange torque must also be taken into account. The additional torque induced in the tube sheet by the flange torque complicates the calculation of the tube sheet, and its thickness depends on its critical combination. For a tube sheet with an extended portion that also serves as a flange, the flange and the tube sheet should be designed separately, and the thickness of the flange can differ from that of the tube sheet.