Title of Invention

A HEAT TRANSFER PLATE FOR PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS, A PLATE PACK AND A PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat transfer plate for a plate heat exchanger having a first port portion (A) with at least one port (1,4) for each of two fluids and a second port portion (B) with at least one port (2, 3) for each of the fluids, and a heat transfer portion which is located between said port portions (A, B). The ports (1, 4) in the first port portion (A) are located along a fIrst geometric line (LA; Lal-LA2) which essentially is parallel to a longitudinal direction (L) of the plate, while the ports (2, 3) in the second port portion (B) are located along a second geometric line (LB; LB1- LB2) which is essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction (L) of the plate. A flow limiter (5) is arranged at least in the first port portion (A) adjacent to at least one of the ports which is located nearest the second port portion (B). The second port portion (B) has a corresponding flow limiter (6).

Full Text

HEAT TRANSFER PLATE, PLATE PACK AND PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat transfer plate for plate heat exchangers comprising a first port portion which is located in a first edge portion of the heat transfer plate and which comprises at least one port for each of two fluids, a second port portion which is located in a second edge portion of the heat transfer plate and which comprises at least one port for each of the fluids, and a heat transfer portion which is located between said port portions, the ports in the first port portion being located along a first geometric line which is essentially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the plate, and the ports in the second port portion being located along a second geometric line which is essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the plate. The invention also relates to a plate pack and a plate heat exchanger. Background Art A plate heat exchanger comprises a plate pack of a number of assembled heat transfer plates forming between them plate interspaces. In most cases, every second plate interspace communicates with a first inlet channel and a first outlet channel, each plate interspace being adapted to define a flow area and to conduct a flow of a first fluid between said inlet and outlet channels. Correspondingly, the other plate interspaces communicate with a second inlet and a second outlet channel for a flow of a second fluid. Thus the plates are in contact with one fluid through one of their side surfaces and with the other fluid through the other side surface, which allows a considerable heat exchange between the two fluids. tions have to be made. A heat transfer plate which is intended for use in applications involving relatively low pressures may have a large heat transfer surface. If said fluid is supplied under high pressures, the large heat transfer surface will cause great forces which must then be absorbed by the frame or the solder between the plates. The bending moment exerted on an end plate owing to the liquid pressure is proportional to the width of the plate raised to the second power. At pressures of 100-150 bar (10-15 MPa) extremely thick end plates are necessary to allow use of wide heat transfer plates with large ports of the type described above in general . Moreover the clamp bolts must be dimensioned to resist the force required for the plate pack to be clamped sufficiently hard for a correct seal to be obtained. For each bolt not to be too thick and unwieldy to handle, a large number of bolts will be required in high pressure applications. In dimensioning for extremely high pressures, the problem sometimes arises that there is no space along the circumference of the plates for all the bolts that would be required. Furthermore it is necessary to use strong frames, which makes the construction still more expensive. Especially in plate heat exchangers with a relatively small number of plates in which the frame cost constitutes a large part, this construction will be too expensive relative to the achieved heat transfer capacity. In this context, also the type of plate heat exchanger as described in DE-A1-19716200 should be mentioned. This publication discloses a plate heat exchanger where all ports, i.e. also the ports for the different fluids, are positioned along one and the same line. The object stated in the DE publication is that it is desirable to obtain an improved distribution of the flow over the width of the heat transfer plates. The shape of the plate is essentially long narrow and rectangular, and the of the plate, and in EP-AI-54836Q the upper port is positioned just above the centre of the plate. This construction is only intended to be used for the very special flow conditions prevailing in falling film evaporators and would not function at all in conventional fields of application for ordinary plate exchangers. If this construction would be used for great flows, the pressure drop would be extremely high, which would cause an unsatisfactory degree of efficiency. Moreover, the plate heat exchanger according to US-A-4708199 should be commented on. This patent discloses a circular plate with a number of flanged through holes and plane openings which are alternatingly positioned on the same radius* and with the same pitch in the circumferential direction. A number of plates are stacked one each other, each plate being rotated by a pitch in relation to the subjacent. The flanges round the holes provide a seal against the underside of the superposed plate and thus define this hole towards the flow area obtained between the plate in question and the plate above. Since the plates are rotated by a pitch relative to each other, every second port will communicate with every second flow area. This special construction has been developed for use in welded plate heat exchangers with the aim of not requiring two different plates that are alternatingly stacked on each other. However, this construction is not satisfactory when used at high pressures since circular plates give a maximum span in relation to a given heat transfer surface and are thus exposed to excessive loads. There is thus no fully satisfactory conventional heat exchanger concept which can be used at high pressures. The variants that are available suffer from various drawbacks. For instance, they cause the construction of the frame to be unnecessarily heavy, the metal sheet to be poorly used or the flow to be unsatisfactorily distributed over the width of the plates. Above all, from the opposite port portion. In contrast to prior-art constructions, the new construction further allows a good distribution of the fluid flow also from the port that is positioned nearest the opposite port portion. This is achieved by means of the flow limiter, which is arranged adjacent to at least one of said ports. Since the flow limiter extends in the above-defined way adjacent to said port, a good distribution of the fluid flowing to or from the port is obtained, without causing a very great pressure drop. This construction feature ensures that a fluid flow cannot flow directly between two ports but must be deflected or at least affected by a flow limiter on its way from the inlet port to the outlet port. ' Furthermore the flow limiter is positioned between said port and the second port portion, which causes the fluid flow to be distributed over the whole width of the heat transfer portion instead of being conducted directly to the corresponding inlet or outlet port. Besides the flow limiter makes it possible to control the flowing distance of the fluids so that both fluids flow along a distance which is of essentially the same length, which is advantageous as regards optimisation of the heat exchange between the fluids. In view of that stated above, it is possible to design the plates in such a manner that they are narrow while at the same time a good degree of efficiency as regards the heat exchange is achieved. This is particularly advantageous in applications involving high pressures of the fluids since wide plates would require very strong and expensive frames and frame plates. The inventive construction thus offers a solution to the above problems. Preferred embodiments will be defined in the dependent claims. According to a preferred embodiment, said port provided with a flow limiter constitutes an inlet port for one of the fluids. By directing the inflow of a fluid, a the plate in a plate heat exchanger. This is a construction which is advantageous in terms of manufacture. By using a plate formed with a ridge, it is possible to assemble, for instance, plate packs with plates that are welded together in pairs. Such a construction is, for example, favourable in applicat ions where one fluid is fruit juice, a sugar solution or some other fluid requiring cleaning of the plates at regular intervals, and the other fluid is water. Since only every second plate interspace needs to be cleaned and handling should be as simple as possible in dismounting, it is convenient for only the interspaces to be accessible that need to be cleaned and that the other are accommodated in the cassettes that are being handled. According to a preferred embodiment, a flow 1imiter comprises a pressed trough which is formed integrally with the plate and a gasket which is arranged in the trough and which is adapted, in the mounted position in a plate heat exchanger, to abut against an adjoining heat transfer plate. This is a construction which is advantageous in terms of manufacture. For instance, this construction can be used when it is desirable to manufacture one type of plate as regards ports and patterns, but to obtain two types of plates as regards gaskets round ports and the like. By using gaskets in the correct way, it is then possible to obtain two different plates that can be used alternatingly and that can be made of one and the same type of pressed metal sheet. Since the press tools are expensive, it is desirable to be able to use plate configurations requiring only one type of press pattern and, thus, only one press tool. In a preferred embodiment, the ports in each of the port portions are positioned along one and the same geometric line. This renders it possible to make the heat transfer plate very narrow, to automatically obtain a flow distribution of the flow to and from the ports which are positioned furthest away from the opposite port fluid flow between the ports which are located furthest away from the opposite port portion. To obtain a heat transfer plate which is usable alternatingly, the ports are arranged symmetrically in relation to a symmetry line. Depending on whether the plate is to be designed for phase change of one fluid, both fluids or none of the fluids, this symmetry line may be selected in various ways. The above objects of the invention are ■ achieved also by means of a plate pack and a plate heat exchanger of the type as defined in the respective independent claims. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings which by way of example illustrate currently preferred embodiments of the invention. Fig 1 shows a heat transfer plate which is usable alternatingly by rotation about its longitudinal axis or its transverse axis. Fig. 2 shows a heat transfer plate which is usable alternatingly by rotation about a normal to the plane of the plate, placed in the centre of the plate. Figs 3-4 show a heat transfer plate which is intended for phase change of one of the fluids and which is usable alternatingly by rotation about its longitudinal axis. In this case, a phase change of vapour to liquid takes place (see Fig. 3). Figs 5-6 show a heat transfer plate which is intended for phase change of one of the fluids and which is usable alternatingly by rotation about its longitudinal axis. In this case, a phase change of liquid to vapour takes place (see Fig. 5). Figs 7-8 show a heat transfer plate which is designed to manage phase'change for both fluids and which is usable alternatingly by rotation about a normal to the plane of the plate, placed in the centre of the plate. the flow on the lower or rear side relative to the plane of the drawing. As is evident from the Figures, the heat transfer plate further comprises flow limiters 5-6 which are arranged adjacent to the port in the respective portions which is located nearest the opposite port portion. The flow limiters 5-6 are formed as a pressed ridge adapted to abut against a corresponding ridge of an adjoining plate. As flow limiters 5, 6 it is also possible to use a gasket which is arranged in a pressed groove in the two juxtaposed plates. The Figures show, by means of solid lines, sealing gaskets or flow limiters welded together on the shown side formed with ridges intended for welding, shown as thin dash dot lines, and on the other side formed with ridges intended for welding or, on this side, formed with non-filled gasket grooves shown by dash dot lines. The flow limiters 5, 6 can be straight or be of some other preferred shape which is chosen, for instance, for reasons of flow. The flow limiters 5-6 shown in the Figures extend preferably approximately along half of the circumference of the respective ports and extend essentially in the form of a semicircle. The flow limiters 5-6 are located at the side of the port facing the opposite port portion. In the description above, specific embodiments have not been taken into consideration and the description above is applicable to embodiments that will be described below, if not otherwise stated in connection with the description of each embodiment. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the heat transfer plate comprises a first inlet port 1 in the upper port portion A and a first outlet port 2 in the lower port portion B, which ports are intended for a flow of a first fluid. Moreover the plate 1 has a second inlet port 3 in the lower port portion B and a second outlet port 4 in the two inner ports 1, 2. To be able to distribute the first fluid flow (solid arrows), the above-mentioned flow limiters 5, 6 are arranged between the respective ports 1, 2 and the opposite port portion. Fig. 2 shows another preferred embodiment. In this design, the port 1 which is the outer port in one port portion (i.e. the port located furthest away from the opposite port portion) is in fluid communication with the port 2 which is the inner port in the other port portion (i.e. the port which is located nearest the opposite port portion). The plate is provided with gaskets (solid thick lines) and is designed to be usable alternatingly by rotation about a normal to the plane of the plate, placed in the centre of the plats. This means that the gasket configuration in the lower half of the front side of the plate is similar to the one in the upper half of the front side of the adjoining plate. As is evident from Fig. 2, the outlet port 4 is provided with a flow limiter. Like in the embodiments described above, the flow limiter 5 is essentially U-shaped and positioned between the port in question and the opposite port portion. The two inlet ports 1, 3 are not provided with a flow limiter. In this case, this is not necessary since the two inner ports 2, 4 constitute a limitation of the flow since the flow from the inlet port 1, 3 in the two port portions must divide and flow on each side of the intermediate outlet ports 2, 4. Figs 3-4 show yet another preferred embodiment. In this design, the two outer portions 1, 2 are in fluid communication with each other and the two inner ports 3, 4 are in fluid communication with each other. The two inner ports 3, 4 are provided with flow limiters 5, 6 of the type described above. The uppermost port 1 which constitutes the inlet port for the first fluid occupies a relatively large part of the width of the plate. In the variant shown in Fig. 10, the port 1 occupies the major part of the width of the plate. The lowermost port 2 ly use half the press depth and then arrange for gaskets to be placed in the grooves where sealing is desired. For example, gaskets would be arranged on both sides of the plate along its circumference while round the different ports there would be a gasket on one side only of the plate. The flow limiter may then be provided by placing a gasket in the gasket groove round the port or ports in question in the desired U-shaped extent that is evident from Figs 3, 4 and 10. Figs 5-6 show a different way of using the plate in Figs 3-4 and 10. In this alternative use,' the fluids flow in the opposite direction. This flow direction may be used when a fluid is to be evaporated. The evaporated fluid flows from the lower small port 1 up to the upper great port 2. The other fluid flows in the opposite direction between the two inner ports 3, 4. Otherwise, gaskets, welds, etc. are formed in one of the ways that are evident from the description in connection with the embodiment shown in Figs 3-4 and 10. Figs 7-8 illustrate yet another preferred embodiment. In this plate, the ports 2, 3 in the upper port portion B are displaced towards one longitudinal edge and the ports 1, 4 in the lower port portion A are displaced towards the other longitudinal edge. The outer port 3 in the upper port portion B is in fluid communication with the inner port 4 in the lower port portion A. Correspondingly the inner port 2 in the upper port portion B is in fluid communication with the outer port 1 in the lower port portion A. The two outer ports 1, 3 are larger than the two inner ports 2, 4 and constitute inlet ports for the two fluids. By configuring the ports in this way, it is possible to obtain flow paths of the same length and ports of different sizes for inlets 1, 3 and outlets 2, 4 for the two fluids. This is convenient, for instance,- in order to achieve a good heat exchange capacity in applications involving phase change. usable alternatingly by rotation about a normal N to the plane of the plate, placed in the centre. Fig. 9 shows yet another preferred embodiment. In this embodiment, the two ports 1, 2 are in fluid communication with each other and the two outer ports 3, 4 are in fluid communication with each other. The two inner ports 1, 2 are of a shape that is made up of a circle where its extent in the transverse direction is decreased by two straight edges. Moreover the flow limiters 5, 6 extend further outwards past the centre of the respective ports 1, 2 practically out to the outermost point lb, 2b of the respective ports 1, 2. This design of the flow limiters 5, 6 results in extremely good flow distribution. Further the flattening of the inner ports 1, 2 causes the flow between the two outer ports 3, 4 to be obstructed to a relatively small extent. Otherwise, the plate corresponds to a plate of the type that is apparent from the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. For further details, reference is made to the description associated with Fig. 1. It will be appreciated that many modifications of the described embodiments of the invention are conceivable within the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims. For example, it is possible to design the flow limiter so that it does not fully limit the flow but so that it is possible for a small partial flow to flow through the flow limiter. This is shown schematically in Fig. 10 where the lower flow limiter 6 has been broken through in some positions. A more or less broken-through flow limiter can be provided by the gasket or the ridge being made somewhat lower or even being removed completely along some short distances over the extent of the flow limiter. 3. A heat transfer plate according to claim 1, wherein said port provided with a flow limiter constitutes an outlet port for one of the fluids. 4. A heat transfer plate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flow limiter (5) extends circumferentially along about half of the circumference of said port. 5. A heat transfer plate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a further flow limiter (6) is arranged in the second port portion (B) adjacent to one of the ports which on the one hand is located nearest the first port portion (A) and, on the other hand, constitutes an outlet port for one of the fluids. 6. A heat transfer plate according to claim 5, wherein said further flow limiter (6) is of such an extent that each straight geometric line, which is designed to extend between said port and a port which is located in the opposite port portion (A) and is intended for the same fluid, extends through said flow limiter (6). 7. A heat transfer plate according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said further flow limiter (6) extends circumferential ly along about half of the circumference of said port. 8. A heat transfer plate according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein said further flow limiter (6) is located between said port and the first port portion (A). 9. A heat transfer plate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flow limiter or flow limiters (5; 6) comprise a pressed ridge which is formed integrally with the plate and which is arranged to abut against an adjoining heat transfer plate in the mounted position of the plate in a plate heat exchanger. 10. A heat transfer plate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flow limiter or flow limiters (5; 6) comprise a pressed trough which is formed integrally with the plate and a gasket which is arranged 18. A heat transfer plate according to claim 16, wherein said symmetry line extends transversely of a main flow direction of said fluids. 19. A heat transfer plate according to claim 15, wherein said symmetry line constitutes a normal to the plane of the plate. 20. A plate pack for plate heat exchangers, characterised in that it comprises a number of heat transfer plates of the kinds as defined in any one of claims 1-19. 21. A plate heat exchanger, characterised in that it comprises a number of heat transfer plates of the kind as defined in any one of claims 1-19. 22. A heat transfer plate for plate heat exchangers substantially as herein above described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 23. A plate heat exchanger substantially as herein above described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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061-chenp-2004-description(complete).pdf

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