A new method used in assembly of the stator component and its limit fluid pressure determination

The AP1000 reactor coolant pump is a single-stage, hermetically sealed centrifugal canned motor pump with high-inertia. The assembly of the can on the stator is one of the most important and difficult techniques in the manufacturing of reactor coolant pumps. In this paper, methods currently used in this process are reviewed first, and an assembly method based on the theory of tube hydroforming is presented and discussed in detail. In order to establish an experiment rig to test the proposed assembly method in the future, a three-dimensional assembly model with reduced size is established to simulate this process in this paper. The limit fluid pressure is preliminarily predicted by using ABAQUS, and the maximum tensile stress criterion is presented as the criterion of the burst of the can. It is expected that the research could provide helpful guidelines for the establishment of the experiment rig and eventually the actual assembly of the can and stator.

► Tube hydroforming as a method to assembly the stator core and can of AP1000.
► Establishing a three-dimensional assembly model for the stator core and can.
► The maximum tensile stress criterion is presented to indicate the burst of the can.
► Obtained the limit internal pressure during the hydroforming by using ABAQUS.