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Design of Plate and Frame Heat Exchangers

Plate heat exchangers transfer heat between two fluids using metal plates that expose the fluids to a large surface area for improved heat transfer. They are compact and commonly used in combination boilers, increasing efficiency. Plate heat exchangers consist of corrugated metal plates pressed together in a frame, forming parallel flow channels that alternate between the hot and cold fluids. Compared to shell and tube exchangers, plate exchangers have a smaller temperature difference between the fluids and a smaller size for the same heat transfer.

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Jiten Kumar Biswal
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37 views

Design of Plate and Frame Heat Exchangers

Plate heat exchangers transfer heat between two fluids using metal plates that expose the fluids to a large surface area for improved heat transfer. They are compact and commonly used in combination boilers, increasing efficiency. Plate heat exchangers consist of corrugated metal plates pressed together in a frame, forming parallel flow channels that alternate between the hot and cold fluids. Compared to shell and tube exchangers, plate exchangers have a smaller temperature difference between the fluids and a smaller size for the same heat transfer.

Uploaded by

Jiten Kumar Biswal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A plate heat exchanger is a type of heat exchanger that uses metal plates to

transfer heat between two fluids. This has a major advantage over a conventional heat
exchanger in that the fluids are exposed to a much larger surface area because the fluids
spread out over the plates. This facilitates the transfer of heat, and greatly increases the speed of
the temperature change. Plate heat exchangers are now common and very
small brazed versions are used in the hot-water sections of millions of combination boilers. The
high heat transfer efficiency for such a small physical size has increased the domestic hot
water (DHW) flowrate of combination boilers. The small plate heat exchanger has made a great
impact in domestic heating and hot-water. Larger commercial versions usegaskets between the
plates, smaller version tend to be brazed.
The concept behind a heat exchanger is the use of pipes or other containment vessels to heat or
cool one fluid by transferring heat between it and another fluid. In most cases, the exchanger
consists of a coiled pipe containing one fluid that passes through a chamber containing another
fluid. The walls of the pipe are usually made of metal, or another substance with a high thermal
conductivity, to facilitate the interchange, whereas the outer casing of the larger chamber is
made of a plastic or coated with thermal insulation, to discourage heat from escaping from the
exchanger.
The plate heat exchanger (PHE) was invented by Dr Richard Seligman in 1923 and
revolutionised methods of indirect heating and cooling of fluids. Dr Richard Seligman founded
APV in 1910 as the Aluminium Plant & Vessel Company Limited, a specialist fabricating firm
supplying welded vessels to the brewery and vegetable oil trades.
Contents
[hide]

1 Design of plate and frame heat exchangers

2 Evaluating plate heat exchangers

3 Flow distribution and heat transfer equation

4 See also

5 References
o

5.1 Bibliography
6 External links

Design of plate and frame heat exchangers[edit]

Schematic conceptual diagram of a plate and frame heat exchanger.

An individual plate for a heat exchanger

The plate heat exchanger (PHE) is a specialized design well suited to transferring heat between
medium- and low-pressure fluids. Welded, semi-welded and brazed heat exchangers are used
for heat exchange between high-pressure fluids or where a more compact product is required. In
place of a pipe passing through a chamber, there are instead two alternating chambers, usually
thin in depth, separated at their largest surface by a corrugated metal plate. The plates used in a
plate and frame heat exchanger are obtained by one piece pressing of metal plates. Stainless
steel is a commonly used metal for the plates because of its ability to withstand high
temperatures, its strength, and its corrosion resistance. The plates are often spaced by rubber
sealing gaskets which are cemented into a section around the edge of the plates. The plates are
pressed to form troughs at right angles to the direction of flow of the liquid which runs through the
channels in the heat exchanger. These troughs are arranged so that they interlink with the other
plates which forms the channel with gaps of 1.31.5 mm between the plates.
The plates produce an extremely large surface area, which allows for the fastest possible
transfer. Making each chamber thin ensures that the majority of the volume of the liquid contacts
the plate, again aiding exchange. The troughs also create and maintain a turbulent flow in the
liquid to maximize heat transfer in the exchanger. A high degree of turbulence can be obtained at
low flow rates and high heat transfer coefficient can then be achieved.

A plate heat exchanger consists of a series of thin, corrugated plates which are mentioned
above. These plates are gasketed, welded or brazed together depending on the application of
the heat exchanger. The plates are compressed together in a rigid frame to form an arrangement
of parallel flow channels with alternating hot and cold fluids.

As compared to shell and tube heat exchangers, the temperature approach in a plate heat
exchangers may be as low as 1 C whereas shell and tube heat exchangers require an approach
of 5 C or more. For the same amount of heat exchanged, the size of the plate heat exchanger is
smaller, because of the large heat transfer area afforded by the plates (the large area through
which heat can travel). Increase and reduction of the heat transfer area is simple in a plate heatexchanger, through the addition or removal of plates from the stack.

Evaluating plate heat exchangers[edit]


All plate heat exchangers look similar on the outside. The difference lies on the inside, in the
details of the plate design and the sealing technologies used. Hence, when evaluating a plate
heat exchanger, it is very important not only to explore the details of the product being supplied,
but also to analyze the level of researchand development carried out by the manufacturer and
the post-commissioning service and spare parts availability.
An important aspect to take into account when evaluating a heat exchanger are the forms of
corrugation within the heat exchanger. There are two types: intermating
and chevron corrugations. In general, greater heat transfer enhancement is produced from
chevrons for a given increase in pressure drop and are more commonly used than intermating
corrugations.[1]

Flow distribution and heat transfer equation[edit]


Design calculations of a plate heat exchanger include flow distribution and pressure drop and
heat transfer. The former is an issue of Flow distribution in manifolds.[2]A layout configuration of
plate heat exchanger can be usually simplified into a manifold system with two manifold headers
for dividing and combining fluids, which can be categorized into U-type and Z-type arrangement
according to flow direction in the headers, as shown in manifold arrangement.Bassiouny and
Martin developed previous theory of design.[3][4] In the recent years Wang [5][6] unified all
the main existing models and developed a most completed theory and design tool.
The total rate of heat transfer between the hot and cold fluids passing through a plate heat
exchanger may be expressed as: Q = UATm where U is the Overall heat transfer coefficient, A
is the total plate area, and Tm is the Log mean temperature difference. U is dependent upon
the heat transfer coefficients in the hot and cold streams.[1]

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