CN1672007A - A heat exchanger plate, a plate heat exchanger and a method for manufacturing a heat exchanger plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention refers to a heat exchanger plate (3), a plate heat exchanger with a plate package of heat exchanger plates and a method for manufacturing a heat exchanger plate. The heat exchanger plate includes a heat transfer area (20) and a border area (22), which is located outside the heat transfer area and which extends along and delimits the heat transfer area. A curable polymer material is applied to the border area in such a way that it extends along the whole or parts of the border area. The polymer material forms after curing a gasket (30) for tight abutment against an adjacent plate in the plate heat exchanger.

Description

Heat exchanger plate, plate heat exchanger, and method of manufacturing heat exchanger plate

technical field

The invention relates to a heat exchanger plate for a heat exchanger, wherein the plate comprises a heat transfer area and a border area, which is located outside the heat transfer area and extends along the heat transfer area and defines the heat transfer area borders. The invention also relates to a plate heat exchanger comprising a plurality of such plates. In addition, the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a heat exchanger plate, comprising the steps of providing a thin plate, cutting the plate and forming the plate into a heat exchanger plate with a heat transfer area and a boundary area, the heat transfer area The area has a large number of openings, the boundary area is located outside the heat transfer area and extends along the heat transfer area and defines the boundary of the heat transfer area.

Background technique

SE-B-548806 discloses a plate heat exchanger with such heat exchanger plates. The heat exchanger plates are held together by means of tension bolts in order to form a plate pack.

Today's heat exchanger plates are made by pressing into the desired shape and removing unnecessary parts such as openings. Gaskets are used between the heat exchanger plates of the plate heat exchanger, which gaskets are produced separately, for example by compression molding or injection molding. Thereafter, the complete gasket is attached to the complete heat exchanger plate. Preferably, the gasket is attached to the heat exchanger plate by gluing. The gasket may also comprise various guides, such as so-called T-shaped tabs, which extend outwards from the gasket and are pressed into corresponding grooves in the heat exchanger plate. Previous gaskets generally had a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, whereas recent gaskets have a roof-like pointed cross-sectional shape for the upper surface of the gasket, which faces and bears against the adjacent heat exchanger surface of the board.

Even though such known separately molded gaskets have good sealing properties and high reliability, these gaskets have certain disadvantages. The installation of liners is a time-consuming manual task, which is prone to worker fatigue and difficult to automate. Large quantities of pads of various sizes have to be stored. The manufacture of pads of various sizes requires a substantial investment in different molding tools, which also means that changing pads is very costly. In different applications, the gasket cannot be individually adapted to different plate thicknesses, or cannot be individually adapted to the required working pressure. During the mounting of the panel-to-panel assembly, it is necessary to precisely check that the gasket is correctly positioned, eg if all the T-shaped tabs are correctly set in the corresponding grooves. For the maintenance of plate heat exchangers, the gaskets can no longer be used because they often break and shrink and so on. Therefore, the liner has to be removed and replaced in each maintenance situation where the plate assembly is removed.

DE-A-2359978 discloses another type of plate heat exchanger with plates of glass or any similar silicate material. Between the plates along the edges, strips of sealing and bonding composite material comprising silicon are provided. The strips are arranged consecutively so that the first strip and the gauge are applied to the first plate. Thereafter, a second plate is applied to the distance pieces and the first belt. The second tape and spacers are then applied to the second plate, after which the third plate is applied to the second tape, and so on. When the panel assembly installation is completed in this way, the sealing and bonding material cures and the spacers are subsequently removed.

DE-A-3905066 discloses a heat exchanger module with thin metal foils placed on top of each other with intermediate distance elements comprising edge pieces and fabric. The edge piece includes sealing means, which are made of different polymer materials such as silicone natural rubber, thermoplastic resins, and the like.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to simplify the production of plate heat exchangers and to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.

This object is achieved by means of a heat exchanger plate defined by the preamble and the characterizing part, which heat exchanger plate is characterized in that a curable polymer material is applied to the border area and cured on the border area, so that the polymeric material extends along the whole or part of the border region and is arranged so as to form a gasket for tight abutment against an adjacent plate in the plate heat exchanger.

With such a heat exchanger plate, the above-mentioned disadvantages are overcome. The panel can be produced in an easy manner by applying the polymer material in uncured adhesive form to the panel in the border region. When the polymeric material has solidified, a heat exchanger plate is formed on which the polymeric material is fixedly adhered to the border area, which heat exchanger plate abuts another such plate in a plate assembly. board settings. The entire liner previously used can thus be dispensed with. Since the viscous polymer material can be applied by means of robotic means, its manufacture can be automated in an easy manner.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the curable polymer material includes silicon, which has good sealing properties. Silicon also has a high ability to bond to the underlying heat exchanger plate. Thus, the curable polymer material comprises liquid silicone rubber (LSR).

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the curable polymer material forms a substantially planar lower surface after curing, which adheres directly to the boundary region. Thus, a good bond to the border area of the underlying plate is ensured. In addition, the curable polymeric material comprises an upper surface after curing, the upper surface having a gently curvilinear convex shape in cross-section. With this convex shape, a tight abutment against the adjacent plate is ensured. Due to the convex shape, this abutment has a generally linear shape. The convex shape also helps to achieve a reduction in the risk of the liner sticking to adjacent panels, especially in comparison to bonding to the border area of the underlying panel after prolonged use. The plate assembly can thus be easily disassembled.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the curable polymeric material comprises a first component and a second component, the first component and the second component being mixed into an applicable polymer mixture. This curable polymer material can be stored for long periods of time before the ingredients are mixed. This curable polymer material has given desired properties after curing in terms of adhesive properties, viscosity, hardness. Advantageously, the applicable polymer mixture is very viscous before curing so that the polymer mixture can be easily applied. For example, the viscosity of the applicable polymer mixture reaches 300-800 Pas (Pascals x seconds). This viscosity ensures that the polymer mixture retains the desired shape prior to curing and until the curing is complete. At the same time, with a viscosity of this magnitude, it is ensured that the applied material is joined at the beginning and before its end is very homogeneous. The selected viscosity must therefore be optimized with regard to at least application properties, shape stability, and connection uniformity.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the boundary region comprises a bottom surface and at least one first side surface, the bottom surface extending substantially along the entire boundary region, the first side surface extending along the entire extend between thermal regions. The first side surface is interrupted in the sense that the corrugations of the heat transfer zone reach the first side surface. The first side surface forms an angle with respect to the bottom surface. In this way, a marking path to the polymer material is formed. The boundary region also includes a second side surface extending outside the bottom surface along the entire boundary region and forming an angle with respect to the bottom surface. The polymer material is thus surrounded between the side surfaces and remains in the desired position also after prolonged use of the plate heat exchanger. The heat exchanger plate also includes an edge region located outside the boundary region and extending around and defining the boundary region, wherein the second side surface extends between the bottom surface and the edge region.

The above objects are achieved by means of a plate heat exchanger as defined in the preamble and comprising an assembly of heat exchanger plates as defined above. The heat exchanger plate is easily mounted to a plate pack of a plate heat exchanger, wherein the plate pack is held together by means of tension bolts or any similar means.

This object is also achieved by means of the method for manufacturing a heat exchanger plate defined in the preamble and having the steps of the characterizing part, comprising the following steps:

applying a curable polymeric material to the boundary region such that the polymeric material extends along the entirety of the boundary region or a portion of the boundary region; and

The curable polymer material is allowed to cure so as to form a gasket for tight abutment against an adjacent plate in the plate heat exchanger.

Advantageous embodiments of the method are defined in the dependent claims 15-25.

Advantageously, the curable polymeric material comprises a first component and a second component, and immediately prior to said applying the method comprises the step of mixing the two components into an applicable, preferably very viscous, polymeric mixture of substances. The first component comprises silicon such as LSR and may comprise a catalyst, the second component comprises silicon such as LSR and an activator such as a crosslinker, wherein the percentages of the two components in the polymer mixture are advantageously about the same.

In addition, the curable polymer material is applied by means of an automatic handling device arranged to carry a nozzle for discharging the polymer material and to guide the nozzle along the border area. After application, the curable polymer material is cured at an elevated temperature, for example between 150-250 degrees Celsius. The curable polymeric material cures in a curing time of at least 0.5 hours.

Description of drawings

The invention can be better understood with reference to the following description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of a plate heat exchanger of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a front view of the plate heat exchanger shown in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 shows the front view of the heat exchanger plate of the plate heat exchanger shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Figure 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a processing device for applying polymer material to the plate shown in FIG. 3 .

Detailed ways

Figures 1 and 2 show a plate heat exchanger 1 comprising a plate assembly 2 with heat exchanger plates 3 arranged adjacent to each other. This plate assembly is arranged between two end plates 4 and 5 . The end plates 4 and 5 are pressed against the plate assembly 2 and against each other by means of tension bolts 6 which extend through the end plates 4 and 5 . The tension bolt 6 comprises a thread, and thus the plate assembly 2 can be compressed by screwing a nut 7 onto the tension bolt 6 in a manner known in the art. In the illustrated embodiment, four tension bolts 6 are shown. It should be noted that the number of tension bolts may vary and may be different in different applications.

The plate heat exchanger 1 also comprises two inlet pieces 8 and two outlet pieces 9 . The inlet piece 8 and the outlet piece 9 extend through one of the end plates 5 and the plate assembly 3 . The plates 3 are provided with openings 10 in a manner known in the art, see Figure 3, and the plates 3 are compression molded so that every other interstitial space between adjacent heat exchanger plates The inlet piece 8 and the outlet piece 9 communicate, while every other interstitial space between adjacent heat exchanger plates 3 communicates with another pair of inlet piece 8 and outlet piece 9 . This separation of interstitial spaces can be achieved by pressing the plate in such a way that the area around the opening 10 lies approximately on the middle plane of the heat exchanger plate 3 . The opening 10 can also be surrounded by a gasket in order to achieve this separation of interstitial spaces. These pads will be described in detail below.

Thus, a first medium can be introduced via the first inlet piece 8 , flow through the first half of the interplate space and be drawn out via the first outlet piece 9 . A second medium can be introduced via the second inlet piece 8 , flow through the second half of the interplate space and be drawn out via the second outlet piece 9 . The two media can be conveyed countercurrently or cocurrently to each other.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the configuration of the individual heat exchanger plates 3 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a front view of the heat exchanger plate 3 . The heat exchanger plate 3 is made of sheet metal, preferably stainless steel, and comprises a substantially central heat exchange area 20 in which the aforementioned opening 10 is arranged. This heat transfer area 30 is provided in a manner known in the art with corrugations 21 obtained by compression molding of a sheet metal. In the illustrated embodiment, the corrugations 21 are only schematically indicated by the way they extend in a diagonal direction over the heat transfer area 20 . It should be noted that the corrugations 21 may comprise significantly more complex extensions of ridges and depressions, such as herringbone patterns known in the art. It is also within the scope of the invention to use substantially completely planar plates.

The heat exchanger plate 3 also comprises a boundary area 22 outside the heat transfer area 20 , which extends around the heat transfer area 20 and delimits the heat transfer area 20 . The heat exchanger plate 3 also comprises an edge region 23 outside the border region 22 which extends around the border region 22 and delimits the border region 22 . As shown in Figure 2, the boundary area 22 includes a bottom surface 25, a first side surface 26, and a second side surface 27, the bottom surface extends substantially along the entire boundary area 22, the first side surface extends along the boundary area 22 and Extending between the bottom surface 25 and the heat transfer region 20 , the second side surface extends along the entire boundary region 22 and between the bottom surface 25 and the edge region 23 . The first side surface 26 is interrupted where the corrugations of the heat transfer region 20 reach the first side surface 26 . The side surfaces 26 and 27 form corresponding angles with respect to the bottom surface 25 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the boundary region 22 thus has a groove-like structure with a trapezoidal cross-section.

Each heat exchanger plate 3 comprises a gasket 30 arranged in the boundary area 22 so that it extends along the heat transfer area 20 . In the embodiment shown, the liner 30 extends substantially along the entire border area 22 , except for four interruptions which form discharge channels 34 in the vicinity of the two openings 10 . FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the liner 30 . The liner 30 includes a generally planar lower surface 31 which abuts against the generally planar bottom surface 25 of the border region 22 . The gasket 30 may also abut against and be supported by the side surfaces 26 , 27 of the border region 22 . Pad 30 also exhibits an upper surface 32 which in cross-section has a gently curvilinear convex shape. Thus, the gasket 30 uses this upper surface 32 to bear against the adjacent heat exchanger plate 3' with a force concentrated along the centreline in mounting into the plate assembly 2.

The liner 30 is made of a curable polymer material. The polymer material is supplied in the border region in the uncured state as a very viscous polymer mixture in the amount of 300-800 Pas, preferably 450-650 Pas. With this viscosity, the polymer mixture can be easily applied and after application achieve the cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 4 . At the same time, the viscosity can be used to make the polymer material very viscous and form irregular shapes, especially at the junction between the beginning of the pad and the very end of the pad 30 .

Fig. 5 schematically shows an automated processing device for the application of polymeric material. The handling device comprises a robotic arm 40 with a gripper 41 holding an applicator 42 . The applicator 42 comprises a mixing chamber 43 and a nozzle 44 in order to discharge the polymer material. The robotic arm 40 can be programmed in a manner known in the art to move along a defined path of movement, in this case along the boundary area 22 as shown.

The curable polymer material comprises suitable silicon, and in the embodiment shown liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is used. The polymeric material is provided as a first component comprising LSR and may comprise a catalyst and a second component comprising LSR and an activator, such as a crosslinking agent. The two components are supplied into the mixing chamber 43 via respective supply conduits 45 , 46 and thus are in the mixing chamber 43 substantially immediately before the polymer mixture is supplied via the nozzles 44 to the heat exchanger plate 3 . mix in. After the polymer mixture is applied, the polymer mixture cures. In relatively long periods of time curing is carried out at room temperature, but preferably in a curing oven at a temperature of 150-250 degrees Celsius, eg 200 degrees Celsius. The curing time can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours, for example about 1 hour. After curing, the liner 30 has a suitable hardness so as to allow tight abutment without risking a strong bond with the plate 3' placed thereon. After curing, the liner 30 is fixedly adhered to the underlying plate 3 .

As mentioned above, each heat exchanger plate 3 may also comprise a gasket 50 defining two openings 10 . In addition, another liner 51 may be arranged around each aperture 10 in close proximity to the edge of the aperture 10 . These pads 50 , 51 can be made in the same way as the pad 30 and at the same time as the pad 30 . Therefore, the pads 50 , 51 have the same properties as the pad 30 .

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but changes and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

For example, the heat exchanger plate 3 may be used in various plate heat exchanger applications and may include more or fewer openings. Additionally, the invention is applicable to plate heat exchangers without openings, where the inlet and outlet pieces are connected to different sides of the plate pack.

It should be noted that the terms "above" and "below" are used in this application to refer only to the position relative to the pads 30, 50 in the figures. Of course, the plates 3 may have other orientations when the plate heat exchanger 1 is used.

Claims (25)

1. heat exchanger plate (3) that is used for heat-exchangers of the plate type (1), wherein this plate (3) comprising:

Conduct heat regional (20); With

Borderline region (22), this borderline region are positioned at the outside in this heat transfer zone (20) and extend and determine the border in this heat transfer zone along this heat transfer zone (20),

It is characterized in that, curable polymeric material is applied to this borderline region (22) and upward and at this borderline region (22) goes up curing, so that this polymeric material extends along whole borderline region or portion boundary zone, and be arranged to be convenient to form liner (30,50), so as in this heat-exchangers of the plate type (1) closely against adjacent plate (3).

2. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material comprises silicon.

3. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material comprises liquid silastic.

4. as each described heat exchanger plate in the above-mentioned claim, it is characterized in that this curable polymeric material forms the lower surface (31) that is roughly the plane after solidifying, it directly adheres on this borderline region (22).

5. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material comprises upper surface (32) after solidifying, and this upper surface has slow curved convex shape in the cross section.

6. as each described heat exchanger plate in the above-mentioned claim, it is characterized in that this curable polymeric material comprises first composition and second composition, first composition and second composition are mixed into the polymeric blends that can apply.

7. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 6 is characterized in that, this polymeric blends that can apply was very sticking before solidifying.

8. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 7 is characterized in that the viscosity of the polymeric blends that this can apply reaches 300-800Pas.

9. as each described heat exchanger plate in the above-mentioned claim, it is characterized in that, this borderline region (22) comprises basal surface (25) and at least one first side surface (26), this basal surface roughly extends along whole borderline region, this first side surface extends and extends between this basal surface and heat transfer zone (20) along whole borderline region, and this first side surface forms an angle with respect to this basal surface.

10. heat exchanger plate as claimed in claim 9, it is characterized in that, this borderline region (22) comprises second side surface (27), and this second side surface extends in basal surface (25) outside along whole borderline region, and this second side surface forms an angle with respect to this basal surface.

11. as each described heat exchanger plate in the above-mentioned claim, it is characterized in that this plate (3) comprises fringe region (23), this fringe region is positioned at this borderline region (22) outside, and extends and the limited boundary zone around borderline region.

12., it is characterized in that this second side surface (27) extends as claim 10 and 11 described heat exchanger plates between basal surface (25) and fringe region (23).

13. a heat-exchangers of the plate type, it comprises the assembly (2) that has as each described heat exchanger plate (3) in the above-mentioned claim.

14. a method that is used to make heat exchanger plate, it may further comprise the steps:

Thin plate is provided;

Cut this thin plate and make that this sheet moulding is a heat exchanger plate, this heat exchanger plate has heat transfer zone and borderline region, this heat transfer zone has a plurality of perforates, and this borderline region is positioned at the outside in this heat transfer zone and extends and determine the border in this heat transfer zone along this heat transfer zone

It is characterized in that having following steps: curable polymeric material is applied on this borderline region, so that this polymeric material extends along whole borderline region or portion boundary zone; With

Make this curable polymeric material solidify so that form liner so that in this heat-exchangers of the plate type closely against adjacent plate.

15. method as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material comprises silicon.

16. method as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material comprises liquid silastic.

17. as each described method among the above-mentioned claim 14-16, it is characterized in that this curable polymeric material comprises first composition and second composition, and this method may further comprise the steps before near described applying:

Make these two kinds of compositions be mixed into the polymeric blends that can apply.

18. method as claimed in claim 17 is characterized in that, this polymeric blends that can apply was very sticking before solidifying.

19. method as claimed in claim 17 is characterized in that, the viscosity of the polymeric blends that this can apply reaches 300-800Pas.

20. aforesaid right requires each described method among the 17-19, it is characterized in that, this first composition comprises silicon and can comprise catalyst, and this second composition comprises silicon and activator, and wherein the deal of these two kinds of compositions is roughly the same in this polymeric blends.

21. method as claimed in claim 20 is characterized in that, the viscosity of these two kinds of compositions is roughly the same.

22. aforesaid right requires each described method among the 14-21, it is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material applies by automatic processing device, and this automatic processing device is arranged to carry and is used to discharge the nozzle of this polymeric material and guides this nozzle along this borderline region.

23. aforesaid right requires each described method among the 14-22, it is characterized in that this curable polymeric material solidifies at elevated temperatures.

24. method as claimed in claim 23 is characterized in that, the temperature of this rising is between 150-250 degree centigrade.

25. aforesaid right requires each described method among the 14-24, it is characterized in that, this curable polymeric material solidifies reaching in hardening time of at least 0.5 hour.

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