Review of Developments in Plate Heat Exchanger Heat Transfer Enhancement for Single-Phase Applications in Process Industries

Abstract

A plate heat exchanger (PHE) is a modern, effective type of heat transfer equipment capable of increasing heat recuperation and energy efficiency. For PHEs, enhanced methods of heat transfer intensification can be further applied using the analysis and knowledge already available in the literature. A review of the main developments in the construction and exploration of PHEs and in the methods of heat transfer intensification is presented in this paper with an analysis of the main construction modifications, such as plate-and-frame, brazed and welded PHEs. The differences between these construction modifications and their influences on the thermal and hydraulic performance of PHEs are discussed. Most modern PHEs have plates with inclined corrugations on their surface that create a strong, rigid construction with multiple contact points between the plates. The methods of PHE exploration are mostly experimental studies and/or CFD modelling. The main corrugation parameters influencing PHE performance are the corrugation inclination angle in relation to the main flow direction and the corrugation aspect ratio. Optimisation of these parameters is one way to enhance PHE performance. Other methods of heat transfer enhancement, including improving the form of the plate corrugations, use of nanofluids and active methods, are considered. Future research directions are proposed, such as improving fundamental understanding, developing new corrugation shapes and optimisation methods and area and cost estimations.

Numerical Simulation of the Heat Transfer Inside a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Considering Different Variations in the Geometric Parameters of the Design

“…From the base model, as a proposal to improve heat transfer, the considered geometries presented inclinations in the baffle walls varying their orientation for the inlet and outlet of the cold fluid, as was observed in several investigations [9,27].…”

Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Pillow-Plate Heat Exchangers with Secondary Structuring: A Numerical Analysis

“…In contrast, passive techniques are based on improved heat transfer through unit surface modifications or the use of fluid additives (nanofluids). The number of publications on passive techniques is considerably higher than those on active ones [5,6].…”

Fatigue Behaviour of Brazed Joints for Heat Exchangers

“…A plate heat exchanger (PHE) is a component which enables heat to be transferred from hot to cold medium without mixing them [14][15][16][17]. Here, the total heat transfer surface of channel plates is very large, which enables a high efficiency of such a component.…”