Star-Pattern Plate Heat Exchanger for Thermal Stress Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plate heat exchanger installations face significant challenges with large floor area requirements, high manufacturing and maintenance costs, and thermal stresses due to significant temperature differences between fluids, leading to deformations and breaks in the plates and welds, which reduce efficiency and increase parasitic pressure drop and heat loss.
Innovation Solution
A compact heat exchange installation with a vertical sealed enclosure and bundles of horizontal plates arranged in a star pattern around a central tubular manifold, featuring sliding support for thermal expansion and alternating inlet and outlet configurations on vertical walls to manage fluid circulation and reduce thermal stresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If several plate exchangers are placed one after the other to achieve significant temperature difference, then the temperature difference between fluid inlet and outlet is improved, but the floor area required and manufacturing/maintenance cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple plate bundles into a single integrated heat exchanger unit with shared inlet and outlet manifolds. Multiple plate bundles are arranged in parallel within one enclosure, allowing fluid to flow through all bundles simultaneously via common connection points, thereby achieving significant temperature difference without requiring multiple separate exchangers placed one after the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a sequential arrangement (one after the other) to a parallel arrangement of plate bundles within a single enclosure. This dimensional change allows multiple heat exchange surfaces to operate simultaneously in the same spatial volume, reducing the floor area requirement while maintaining the ability to achieve significant temperature differences.
2Temperature
If several plate exchangers are placed one after the other to achieve significant temperature difference, then the temperature difference between fluid inlet and outlet is improved, but the manufacturing and maintenance cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple plate bundles into a single manufactured unit with shared manifolds, reducing the total number of separate components that need to be manufactured and assembled. This integration simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces maintenance costs by eliminating the need to service multiple separate exchangers and their connecting pipes.
Solution Approach 2:
The inlet and outlet manifolds serve multiple functions simultaneously: they distribute fluid to multiple plate bundles, collect fluid from multiple bundles, and provide thermal mass for heat exchange. This multi-functionality reduces the overall component count and simplifies both manufacturing and maintenance operations.
3Productivity
If connecting pipes are used between various exchangers to transfer fluids, then continuous circulation is achieved, but parasitic pressure drop zones and heat loss zones are created
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the fluid circulation paths of multiple plate bundles into a single integrated system with common inlet and outlet manifolds. Fluid flows through all plate bundles in parallel via these shared manifolds, eliminating the need for separate connecting pipes between individual exchangers and thereby removing the parasitic pressure drop and heat loss zones that would exist in interconnected separate units.
4Productivity
If bundles of plates are rigidly connected to the sealed enclosure to manage fluid flow, then fluid circulation is controlled, but thermal stresses cause deformations and breaks at high temperature differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs sliding supports that allow the plate bundles to move freely in response to thermal expansion and contraction. The bundles are not rigidly fixed but can slide along the enclosure walls, enabling them to accommodate dimensional changes due to temperature differences while maintaining proper fluid circulation control through the manifold connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows the physical state of the plate bundles to change dynamically in response to temperature variations. By using sliding supports instead of rigid connections, the system permits thermal expansion and contraction without inducing stress concentrations that would lead to deformations or breaks, thereby maintaining structural integrity under high temperature differences.
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
The design allows for efficient heat exchange with minimal thermal stress, reduced pressure drop, and lower heat loss, enabling a compact and high-surface-area installation that can handle significant temperature differences while maintaining structural integrity and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
there is a heat exchange between these two fluids which makes it possible to heat one of the fluids and to cool the other fluid or vice versa
Implementation Method 2
this temperature difference causes in the bundles of plates significant thermal stresses which can cause deformations at the level of the plates of the bundles of plates and breaks at the level of the welds
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a heat exchange system between fluids, of the type comprising a sealed enclosure (1), means (20) for heat exchange between the fluids, and means for the inlet (14, 16) and outlet (32, 41) of the fluids. The heat exchange means comprise bundles of plates (20) formed by a stack of horizontal plates, arranged in a star pattern around a central tubular manifold (10) concentric with the enclosure (1). Each bundle of plates (20) has a front vertical wall fixed to the manifold (10) and a free rear vertical wall, and slides on a support member (25) integral with the enclosure.