What is a plate heat exchanger

It is believed that the very first plate-type heat exchanger was created in 1923 by engineer Richard Seligman, founder of the Aluminum Plant & Vessel Company Ltd. Since that time, plate heat exchangers have become widespread in many industries - in metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemical, food industry, pharmaceuticals, storage, utilities, energy, and others. A plate heat exchanger (in a broad sense) is a recuperative-type heat engineering device, where the heat exchange process between two separated, non-mixing mobile media (liquids or gases), which have a temperature gradient between them, occurs through plate surfaces (metal, composite, graphite, etc. ). In a narrower sense, a plate (collapsible) heat exchanger is a heat engineering device, in which, as a rule, metal heat exchange plates are connected in a package, sealed and sealed with polymer (plastic, rubber, etc.) gaskets.

The device and principle of operation of plate heat exchangers

The design of the gasketed plate heat exchanger is based on profiled heat exchange plates, which are usually made by cold stamping from thin-walled (0.4 - 1 mm) corrosion-resistant sheet metal - stainless steels, aluminum alloys, titanium and others. The stamped plates in the plate heat exchanger package are either the same, but mutually rotated by 180 degrees, or differ in "right" and "left". Thus, after being assembled into a package and sealed with gaskets, the stamped profiles on them turn into a network of sealed slotted (pass-through) channels, which form two separate circuits where heat carriers circulate - heating (cooling) and heated (cooled). These coolants, as a rule, are passed through their circuits in opposite directions (counterflow), which contributes to an increase in the temperature difference. At the same time, various options for profiling (corrugation) of the surface of the passage channels are designed to cause turbulence in the flow of coolants, which further intensifies heat transfer.

In addition to heat transfer plates and gaskets, the typical design of a gasketed plate heat exchanger usually includes:

a fixed plate with inlet and outlet nozzles, which serves as a supporting "skeleton" for a set of plate packs;
upper and lower guide consoles, on which "left", "right" plates and sealing gaskets are alternately "strung";
a movable plate that closes the entire type-setting structure;
threaded rods, with which the collapsible structure is fastened together and pulled together, until complete tightness in polymer seals is obtained;
in two- and three-pass plate heat exchangers, where the coolants perform one or one and a half circles of circulation, special plates are used at the ends of the package, changing the direction of the flow.

Benefits and Limitations of Plate Heat Exchangers

The attractiveness of plate heat exchangers is that, in comparison with shell-and-tube heat exchangers, they are characterized by higher heat transfer coefficients, and with the same heat exchange area, they are able to transfer greater heat power. Thus, with the same thermal power, plate heat exchangers are characterized by much smaller dimensions and weight (metal consumption) than shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The efficiency of plate heat exchangers, among all their existing varieties, is currently considered the highest.

Other important advantages of gasketed plate heat exchangers are:

the ability to modernize, in order to change the heat exchange area (heat output), which is done by simply adding or reducing the number of heat exchange plates in the package;
easy accessibility and ease of maintenance (cleaning), realized by disassembly, which is unattainable for non-separable structures (welded or brazed).

Due to the use of polymer gaskets in the design of gasketed plate heat exchangers, they have certain restrictions on the conditions of use. As a rule, such restrictions are within:

according to the temperature of the heat carriers used - up to 180 ° C;
working pressure - up to 2.5 MPa (25 bar).

Plate heat exchangers manufactured by TRANTER

The Swedish company TRANTER is one of the leaders and trendsetters in the gasketed plate heat exchanger market. The company's equipment is widely represented on all continents. The factories of the company operate in the USA, Sweden, India, China. In addition to the manufacture of finished devices, it supplies the market with its high-tech and high-quality heat exchange plates, which are often used in heat exchange devices from other manufacturers. On the example of the TRANTER product range, one can trace the main directions and development trends in the industry:

The GC and GL series symmetrical V-plate heat exchangers are used for a wide range of typical operating conditions. V-shaped plates with sharp corners reduce the flow rate, and with obtuse corners - reduce the pressure drop at the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger.
devices with GX plates (Ultraflex) , which have an asymmetrical herringbone profile. Such an asymmetric profile pattern allows, by combining the mutual orientation of the plates, to obtain six different configuration options for heat exchange circuits, and thus flexibly select the characteristics of heat exchange equipment for specific conditions and tasks.
reinforced double plates GD - are used to ensure extremely high reliability and safety of the heat exchange equipment, to guarantee the immiscibility of the working media in all operating modes. The need to guarantee such conditions often arises in pharmaceuticals, food production, cooling systems for electrical equipment, etc.
heat exchangers on GF plates with profiles (through channels) of increased cross-section (depth and width). Such devices are used to work with high viscosity heat transfer fluids, or contaminated solid (fibrous) particles.
GW plates are semi- welded (welded in pairs) - as a rule, they are used in heat exchangers where hazardous substances such as ammonia or freons are used, and where it is necessary to achieve increased tightness of the circuits.

Advantages of THERMAKS plate heat exchangers

OPEKS Energysystems manufactures and supplies a wide range of gasketed plate heat exchangers under the THERMAKS brand. The THERMAKS gasketed plate heat exchangers are characterized by:

a wide range of models, including more than 30 items, which allows you to select heat exchangers for a wide variety of operating conditions, with a thermal power from 1 kW to 30 MW;
using only high-quality heat exchange plates - symmetrical, asymmetric, with a wide channel, reinforced double and welded in pairs - of the original TRANTER production quality (GX, GC, GL, GD, GW, GF series), and the same reliable sealing gaskets, in thickness and quality which it is not customary for OPEKS to save;
exclusion of the possibility of contact of aggressive heat carriers with corrosion-unstable materials anywhere in the structure of the heat exchanger;
the use of structural solutions (such as a special roller bracket) that facilitate the disassembly, assembly and maintenance of heat exchangers, even when working with very heavy structural elements - plates and plates.
Aesthetic appearance that underlines the high quality workmanship.
Plate material stainless steel steel AISI316 (1.4401), 304 (1.4301), Titanium, Hasteloy, SMO254
THERMAKS heat exchangers provide efficient performance of any technological task thanks to a wide range of plate reliefs, including plates with small corrugations for clean environments and wide-channel reliefs for polluted environments.
Seal material for various media and temperature conditions - synthetic rubber EPDM-P, NBR-P, Viton, Fluor, others
Seals of 2 types: for glue or clip fixation
The seals are distinguished by their powerful appearance and have the largest cross-section among heat exchanger manufacturers, which ensures a long service life before replacement (up to 10 years), and the seals are not damaged during repeated disassembly of heat exchangers
Due to the strength class of galvanized tie bolts 8.8, the thread does not deform during operation
The upper rail on which the plate pack is suspended, made of stainless steel, providing reliable protection against corrosion of an important structural element.
The upper and lower supporting beams are galvanized.
Connecting pipes can be made of stainless steel, titanium, other alloys, excluding contact of the coolant with the plate material
A roller bracket is installed in the mounting structure of the movable plate to facilitate the rollback of the heavy movable plate along the upper supporting beam
The frame can be made in 3 pressure standards PN10, PN16, PN25 bar.
The maximum operating temperature is up to 180 C.
High-quality packaging for transportation, storage and movement to the installation site of each individual unit.
Guarantee not less than 2 years