Plate Heat Exchangers

We supply plate heat exchangers (PHE) as a compact solution for all your heat transfer needs. These gasketed plate heat exchangers offer a level of flexibility like no other heat exchanger on the market today. We supply a comprehensive range of models with connection sizes ranging from 1" to 16". A variety of plate materials are available from stainless steel 304, to 316 and titanium. Exotic alloys such as monel, Hastelloy and Nickel can also be provided for corrosive applications.

Benefits of Plate Heat Exchangers:

• A higher rate of heat transfer is possible due to the high turbulence in the flow pattern of the fluids through alternate channels. This makes for a more compact design with lower capital costs, as the heat transfer surface requirement is much lower than a conventional heat exchanger.
• There is less fouling and reduced down time for maintenance due to the high turbulence these plate heat exchangers can generate.
• Modular design alows the user to add on capacity as needs evolve simply by adding plates to the heat exchanger.
• Less complicated piping allows for the plate and frame heat exchanger to be opened without disturbing the piping. Closer temperature approaches of up to 2°F provides for maximum heat recovery and cost savings to the user.
• Ease of maintenance with minimal space required for opening/closing of the heat exchanger and is ideal for skid mounting

Flow principle of Plate Heat Exchangers:

Plate heat exchangers include a pack of thin metal plates with openings for the passage of the fluids. The plates are corrugated meaning that each pair of adjacent plates in the heat exchanger forms a channel. Every second channel is open to the same fluid. Between each pair of plates there is a rubber gasket, which prevents the fluids from mixing and from leaking to the surroundings.

When the media enters the plate and frame heat exchanger via the connections in the frame, it's directed through alternate channels by the gasket arrangement. The warm fluid flows through every other channel and the cold fluid through the channels in between. Heat is thus transferred from the warm fluid to the colder fluid via the dividing wall, i.e. the plate material. The corrugations support the plates against differential pressure and create a turbulent flow in the channels. This turbulent flow provides high heat transfer efficiency, making the plate heat exchanger very compact compared with traditional shell and tube heat exchangers.