Experiments On Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers with Segmented Corrugation Pattern

Abstract

Gasket plate heat exchanger (GPHE) is among the most used heat exchanger types, known for its high effectiveness and compact design. Its remarkable feature is the corrugated plate geometry, typically a Chevron pattern. This work aims to analyze another corrugation pattern, which has segments with different angles to the vertical. The strengths and weaknesses of the segmented plate are still unclear, as the studies on this pattern are scarce. To fill this gap, we experimentally assess the pressure drop and heat transfer in a GPHE composed of 31 segmented plates. The plates have four quadrants, and the combination of low-angle and high-angle plates can form up to six channel types. Pressure and temperature data are acquired in 144 sets of experiments. In the pressure drop results, we observe a considerable discrepancy between the two streams, which leads to a discussion of a relevant phenomenon: the elastic deformation of the plates. If the inner pressure of the streams is not equal, the pressure gradient causes the plates to deform and change the channel geometry. The stream with the higher pressure has its channels expanded, while the lower pressure channels will be strangled. This phenomenon is rarely reported in the literature and strongly affects the pressure drop. Moreover, we present friction factor correlations for six channel types using flow data. Based on the generalized Lévêque analogy in the heat transfer experiments, we argue that the plates' deformation also affects the heat transfer.