Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger

Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger

1. Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger Summary

    These brazed plate heat exchangers are composed of many thin, slightly separated plates that have very large surface areas and small fluid flow passages for heat transfer. Advances in gasket and brazing technology have made the plate-type heat exchanger increasingly practical. In HVAC applications, large heat exchangers of this type are called plate-and-frame; when used in open loops, these heat exchangers are normally of the gasket type to allow periodic disassembly, cleaning, and inspection. There are many types of permanently bonded plate heat exchangers, such as dip-brazed, vacuum-brazed, and welded plate varieties, and they are often specified for closed-loop applications such as refrigeration. Plate heat exchangers also differ in the types of plates that are used, and in the configurations of those plates. Some plates may be stamped with "chevron", dimpled, or other patterns, where others may have machined fins or grooves. 

    The amount of heat which can be dissipated by a plate heat exchanger can be improved by increasing either the number of plates within the stack or the length and width of the plates. This design makes plate heat exchangers more compact than shell and tube designs and, as they are usually manufactured from stainless steel, they are an obvious choice for many industries such as food and beverage processing, chemicals and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and dairy where copper and aluminium can not be used.

2. Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger Features