Extruded Heat Exchanger End-Piece for Bulging and Leak Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plate heat exchangers face challenges with outwards bulging of end plates, leading to uneven flow and potential leaks, which necessitates thick, heavy components to maintain sealing, resulting in reduced thermal performance and increased material consumption.
Innovation Solution
The development of an extruded end-piece with a frame part featuring an inner and outer portion, and an intermediate portion with cavities, which provides structural strength while minimizing material usage and allowing for efficient heat transfer through a non-solid design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the frame and pressure plates are made thick to prevent outwards bulging, then the sealing reliability is improved, but the weight and material consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The end plate is segmented into a solid outer rim portion and a hollow inner portion with cavity, rather than using a uniformly thick solid plate. This segmentation allows the structure to maintain sealing reliability at the edges while reducing overall material usage and weight in the central area.
Solution Approach 2:
The end plate design applies different structural qualities to different regions: the outer rim maintains sufficient thickness for sealing and bolt engagement, while the inner portion is hollowed out to reduce weight. This local differentiation optimizes the balance between sealing reliability and weight reduction.
2Strength
If the frame and pressure plates are made thick to prevent outwards bulging, then the structural strength is improved, but the thermal performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the end plate into solid rim and hollow inner portion, the design maintains structural strength where needed (at the edges for sealing) while minimizing material in the thermal path through the center, thereby improving thermal performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow inner portion reduces thermal mass and thermal resistance in the central region where heat transfer occurs, while the solid outer rim maintains structural integrity. This local quality differentiation optimizes both strength and thermal performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional solid end plates are used to maintain sealing, then the manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the material consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The end plate is manufactured as a segmented structure with hollow inner portion, which can be achieved through standard casting or extrusion processes. This segmentation significantly reduces material consumption while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through conventional methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes the physical parameter of the end plate from solid to hollow in the inner portion, fundamentally altering material consumption while maintaining compatibility with standard manufacturing processes like casting or extrusion.
Data Source
AI summary
An end-piece for a plate heat exchanger comprises a frame part having an inner portion, an outer portion and an intermediate portion arranged between the inner and outer portions. An outer wall surface of the inner portion faces a first surface of a package of heat transfer plates comprised in the plate heat exchanger. The first surface has a center portion and a peripheral portion encircling the center portion. The frame part is extruded and the intermediate portion of the frame part comprises a first number of cavities extending in an extrusion direction of the frame part. The extrusion direction is parallel to an axis of the frame part. Further, outer dimensions of the outer wall surface of the inner portion are at least as large as outer dimensions of the center portion of the first surface of the package of heat transfer plates.