PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

BHAYANI DHAVAL
4SH06ME004
Introduction
 Compact Heat Exchanger
 Most Advanced Type of Heat Exchanger
 Replaced Shell and Tube type
 Uses Metal Plates to Transfer Heat between two fluids
 Geo-Thermal Fluid Heat Transfer († Corrosive properties)
  Materials
FRAMES 1)Carbon steel with a synthetic resin finish
2)stainless steel

Carrying bars

Suppo
rt
colum
ns
Guiding
bars
  Plate thickness is 0.4 to 0.8 mm
PLATES  Channel lengths are 2-3 meters
 Plates are available in: Stainless Steel, Titanium,
Titanium-Palladium, Nickel.

HERRINGTON WASHBOARD
 Plate - materials Relative
Price
 Standard materials and thicknesses
 AISI 304 stainless steel
 Usually 0.4 or 0.5 mm thickness 100%
 Cheapest possible solution
 AISI 316 ( stainless steel )
115%
 Always 0.5 and 0.6 mm
 Some with thicker plates ( high-pressure applications )
 high-alloy stainless steel 250%
 Usually in 0.6 mm to allow stock-keeping
 Titanium
 Always 0.5 and 0.6 mm 300%
 Some with thicker plates ( high-pressure applications )
 Some PHEs with 0.4 mm ( low-pressure applications )
 Alloy C-276 ( Nickel alloy )
600%
 Usually in 0.6 mm to allow stock-keeping
 CLASSIFICATION

 Based on their construction plate and frame heat

exchangers are classified into
 (a) Gasketted type
 (b) Semi-Welded plate
 (c) Welded plate
 Operation

 Channels are formed between the plates and corner

ports are arranged so that the two media flow
through alternate channels.
 The heat is transferred through the thin plate
between the channels, and complete counter current
flow is created for highest possible efficiency. No
intermixing of the media or leakage to the
surroundings will take place as gaskets around the
edges of the plates seal the unit.
Single Pass, Parallel Flow

Pass/Channel: Hot Side

Cold Side
 Multi-Pass, Parallel Flow
Pass/Channel: Hot Side
Cold Side
 GASKETED-PLATE HEAT
EXCHANGER(GPHE)

 Parallel corrugated plates clamped in a frame

with each plate sealed by gaskets and with four
corners ports, one pair for each of the two fluids.
 The fluids are at all times separated by 2 gaskets,
each open to the atmosphere. Gasket failure
cannot result in fluid intermixing but merely in
leakage to atmosphere, hence a protective cover
is there.
 GASKET MATERIALS

 Typical gasket materials are

Natural rubber styrene
Resin cured butyl
Compressed asbestos fiber gaskets

engineering-resource.com
 WELDED PLATE HEAT
EXCHAGERS(WPHE)

 Developed to overcome the limitations of the gasket

in GPHE
 Inabilty of heat transfer area inspection and
mechanical cleaning of that surface

engineering-resource.com
 APPLICATIONS

3 major applications
 (1)liquid-liquid services
 (2)condensing and evaporative
 (3)Central cooling

engineering-resource.com
 LIQUID-LIQUID SERVICES

 It is well-suited to liquid/liquid duties in turbulent

flow, i.e. a fluid sufficiently viscous to produce laminar
flow in a smooth surface heat exchanger may well be
in turbulent flow in PHE.
 It has major applications in the food industry.

engineering-resource.com
 CONDENSATION AND VAPORIZATION

 Condensation of vapor (including steam) at moderate

pressure, say 6 to 60 Psi, is also economically handled
by PHE’s, but duties involving large volumes of very
low pressure gas or vapor are better suited to other
forms of heat exchangers

engineering-resource.com
 CENTRAL COOLING

 It is the cooling of a closed circuit of fresh non-

corrosive and non-fouling water for use inside a plant,
by means of brackish water. Central coolers are made
of titanium, to withstand the brackish water

engineering-resource.com
 ADVANTAGES

 Compactness
 Flexibility
 Very high heat transfer coefficients on both sides of
the exchanger
 Close approach temperatures and fully counter-
current flow
 Ease of maintenance. Heat transfer area can be added
or subtracted with out complete dismantling the
equipment
engineering-resource.com
 ADVANTAGES

 Ease of inspection on both sides

 Ease of cleaning
 Savings in required flow area
 Low hold-up volume
 Low cost
 No Local over heating and possibility of stagnant
zones is also reduced
 Fouling tendency is less

engineering-resource.com
 LIMITATIONS

 Low Pressure
upto 300 psi
 Low temperature
upto 300 F
 Limited capacity
 Limited plate size
0.02 sq.m to 1.5 sq.m
  Large difference b/w flow rates cant be handled
 High pressure drop
 Potential for leakage

engineering-resource.com
 COMPARISON BETWEEN PHE AND STHE

FEATURES PHE STHE

•Multiple duty Possible Impossible
•Hold up volume Low High
•Gaskets On each plate On flanged
joints
•modifications Easy by adding impossible
or removing
plates
FEATURES PHE STHE
•Repair Easy to replace Requires tube
plates and plugging
gaskets
•Detection of Difficult to
leakage Easy to detect detect

•Time reqd. for

opening 15 min 60 to 90 min

•Fouling 15 to 20 % of
STHE
FEATURES PHE STHE

Sensitivity to Not sensitive sensitive

vibrations
 CALCULATION OF HT AREA

 For a single pass configuration with Np plates and

NP+1 flow passages ,solution of the problem can
be simplified mathematically by assuming n flow
passages and n-1 plates ,since flow velocities
involve flow passages and not plates. with this
modification, the heat transfer surface area of the
exchanger in terms of n is
 A=(n-1)LW=(n-1)(1)(0.25)=0.25(n-1)m 2
engineering-resource.com
 CALCULATION OF FLOW AREA

 The flow area for each stream with n/2flow passages is

given by:
S=n/2(W)(b)
=n/2(0.25)(0.005)
=(6.25*10-4)n.
 CALCULATION OF HEAT DUTY
AND FLOW RATES

TOTAL RATE OF HEAT TRANSFER:

FOR DOWTHERM
q= (mCpΛT)c
=4(1.622*103)(70-10)
=3.89*105W
THE MASS FLOW RATE OF WATER :
mh=q/(CPΛT)h
=3.89*105/(4.198*103)(95-60)
=2.65 Kg/s
VELOCITY OF WATER:
Vh =mh /ρhS
=2.65/(9.74*102)(6.25*10-4)n
=(4.35/n)m/s
engineering-resource.com
 CALCULATION OF OVERALL
HT COEFFICIENT

 The overall heat transfer coefficient can now

be determined in terms of n. Since the surface
areas on either side of the plate are the same,
no correction for area is required.
 Assume a thickness of the plate xw m
1/U= 1/hh+xw/kw+1/hc
= m. K/W
engineering-resource.com
 USING THE NTU METHOD

 A NTUmin for cold stream with a minimum mcp is defined

NTUmin=UA/(Mcp)min
=Tc,out–Tc,in/ fΛT◦,log mean
LOG MEAN TEMPERATURE DIFF:
ΛT◦,log mean:
=(Th,in-Tc,out)-(Th,out–Tc,in)/ln[(Th,in-Tc,out)/Th,out-Tc,in)]
=(95-70)-(60-10)/ln[(95-70)/(60-10)]
=36.067 K.
 For a single pass counter flow plate and frame heat
exchanger ,F=1.

engineering-resource.com
  NTU =70-10/36.067
=1.664
 To satisfy the other NTU definition of UA/(Mc) in
1 0.25(n-1)
terms
1.664
of results
= (
in the relation)( )
8.751*105n0.64+7.11*10-5 4.0(1.622*103)


engineering-resource.com
 CONCLUSION

 Since the entrance and exit losses will be small, the pressure drop per
plate is small and a new configuration with modified dimensions
 Plate Heat Exchanger are thus much better compared to others and are
presently the best attraction for the industries for cooling liquids.