Advantages and disadvantages of plate heat exchangers

Plate heat exchangers and Plate Heat Exchanger units have a wide range of applications, mainly in the fields of chemical industry, energy, electric power, metallurgy, medicine, and HVAC.

Let me talk about its advantages first, mainly from the following points:

1. The heat transfer efficiency is very high. When water and water fluid exchange heat with each other, the heat transfer coefficient of some structural forms can reach 6000W/(㎡·K);

2. Some types of plate heat exchangers can still operate when the temperature difference is lower than 1°C.

3. There is no heat exchange dead water area and flow dead angle, and in the confined space, except for corner holes, all participate in heat exchange;

4. The applicability is very strong. For different working conditions in many industries, there are many plate types to choose from;

5. Compared with the traditional shell-and-tube heat exchangers, which are bulky and occupy a large area, the plate heat exchanger is light in weight and occupies a small area;

6. There is basically no welding, and the frame can be completely disassembled and transported separately;

7. It is easy to disassemble, repair and maintain, the plates can be cleaned, and the gasket is easy to replace. Inexperienced maintenance personnel can also disassemble and reinstall the plates on site.

Next, let's talk about its disadvantages:

1. Low pressure bearing capacity. Due to the limitation of the pressure bearing performance of the rubber gasket itself, the general working pressure does not exceed 2MPa;

2. The working temperature is low, and the rubber gasket is extremely sensitive to temperatures exceeding 200°C. Long-term operation above 200°C will cause plastic deformation of the gasket and cannot be recovered;

3. It is not suitable for scenes with a lot of impurities. Since the groove depth of the corrugated plate is generally 2~6mm, when there are too many impurities, the flow channel will be blocked and the heat exchange efficiency will decrease.

To sum up, compared with the shell-and-tube heat exchanger, the plate heat exchanger has its own advantages and disadvantages in different application fields, and the specific heat exchanger equipment should be designed and selected according to the working conditions.