Removable Plate Heat Exchangers for Distillation Vessel Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing distillation plants for seawater desalination using plate heat exchangers face significant downtime during maintenance due to the complexity of accessing and servicing the compact units within the vessel, which limits efficiency and increases operational costs.
Innovation Solution
The design allows for plate heat exchangers to be easily removable from the vessel through a perpendicular opening, enabling maintenance and service outside the vessel, with a guide member and sealing arrangement facilitating easy connection and disconnection of conduits, and using inflatable sealing members to maintain sub-pressure within the vessel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If plate heat exchangers are made compact and placed inside the vessel, then the vessel size is reduced, but the accessibility for maintenance and service becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The plate heat exchanger is divided into separable components: a frame assembly containing multiple plate packs, and individual plate packs that can be independently removed. This segmentation allows the compact design to be maintained while enabling easy extraction of specific plates for maintenance without requiring complete disassembly of the entire heat exchanger unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate packs are designed to be extractable from the frame assembly through openings in the vessel wall. This extraction capability allows maintenance personnel to remove individual plate packs for cleaning and inspection outside the vessel, resolving the accessibility problem while maintaining the compact in-vessel configuration during operation.
2Ease of repair
If plate heat exchangers are designed for easy maintenance with accessible plates, then service time is reduced, but the vessel size increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple plate packs are nested within a single frame assembly that fits inside the vessel. This nesting arrangement allows several heat exchange units to occupy minimal space during operation, while the modular frame structure enables individual plates to be accessed and removed for maintenance without requiring the entire vessel to be opened or reconfigured.
3Productivity
If multiple plate heat exchangers are installed in the vessel, then the desalination capacity increases, but the complexity of maintenance and replacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple independent frame assemblies, each containing separable plate packs. This segmentation allows individual plate packs to be maintained or replaced independently without affecting other heat exchangers in the system, reducing maintenance complexity while maintaining high desalination capacity through parallel operation of multiple units.
Solution Approach 2:
Spare plate packs can be prepared in advance outside the vessel. When maintenance is required, the defective plate pack is quickly removed and replaced with a pre-prepared spare, minimizing downtime. This preliminary preparation of replacement parts simplifies the maintenance process for multi-unit systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly reduces downtime by allowing for efficient maintenance and replacement of plate heat exchangers outside the vessel, minimizing operational disruptions and maintaining compact vessel dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
plate heat exchangers... each defining an extension plane... heat exchanger plates... form first plate interspaces and second plate interspaces
Implementation Method 2
plate heat exchangers with gaskets between the heat exchanger plates have been used in distillation plants for desalination of sea water
Implementation Method 3
using inflatable sealing members to maintain sub-pressure within the vessel
Data Source
AI summary
A distillation plant comprises an elongated vessel extending along a longitudinal axis and defining an inner space, and a plurality of plate heat exchangers, which in an operating position are arranged after each other along the longitudinal axis in the vessel. Each plate heat exchanger comprises a plurality of heat exchanger plates, each defining an extension plane. The heat exchanger plates form first plate interspaces and second plate interspaces. The first and second plate interspaces are arranged in an alternating order in the plate heat exchanger. At least one of the plate heat exchangers is associated with a respective opening through the vessel, and is removable from the operating position out of the vessel through the associated opening by being moved in a displacement direction, which is perpendicular to the extension plane of the heat exchanger plates.