DoublesafetyTransformingefficiencies

Compactplateheatexchangerswithdoublewalltechnologyoffersuperiorthermalefficiency
andsafetyoverconventionalshellandtubedoubletubesystems.Inoilcoolingapplications
withinthetransformerindustry,PHEshaveasmallerfootprint,arescalableandflexible.
Intodaystransformerbusiness,thereisanemphasisonexpandingcapacitywhilereducingenergy
loss,keepingthefootprinttoaminimumandmaintainingapositiveenvironmentalprofile.However,
safetymustneverbejeopardizedtoachievecostandenergyeffectiveness.Oilcoolingisavitalpart
ofthetransformerandmustneverfail.AlfaLavalunderstandsthis,andwithcompactplateheat
exchangers(PHEs)withdoublewalltechnologyitisactuallypossibletoincreasetheperformanceat
alowercost,whilemaintainingthesamesafetylevelsoftheconventionalshellandtube(S&T)
doubletubetechnology.
PHEsaremuchsmallerthanS&Tshencetheycaneasilybefittedwithinthefootprintofexisting
designs.SatisfiedcustomersalsoconfirmthatPHEsprovidefasterresponsetochangesin
temperatureandhavelongerintervalsinbetweenservice.Whencarryingoutaservice,the
customerhasunlimitedaccesstotheheattransfersurfacemeaningitiseasiertorestorefullheat
transferefficiency.

Heattransfer
ThePHEconsistsofapackofcorrugatedmetalplateswithportholesforthepassageofthetwofluids
betweenwhichheattransfertakesplace.Theplatepackisassembledbetweenafixframeplateand
amovablepressureplateandcompressedbytighteningbolts.Theplatesarefittedwithagasket
whichsealstheinterpolatechannelanddirectsthefluidsintoalternatechannels.Thenumberof
platesisdeterminedbytheflowrate,physicalpropertiesofthefluids,pressuredropand
temperatureprogram.
WhatdifferentiatesthePHEfromthetraditionalS&Tistheuseofcorrugatedplatestoformtheheat
exchangerchannels.Whentheseplatesarestackedtogetherthemanycontactpointsforcesthefluid
intoaspiralflowthroughthechannels,creatingahighturbulenceandconsequentlygivingahigher
thermalefficiencythantheS&T.
Higherturbulencealsocreateshigherwallshearstress.WhileS&Tshavesocalleddeadzonesthe
PHEshavehighwallshearstressovertheentireheattransferarea,creatingacleaningeffect.This
minimizestheriskoffoulingandpermitsthePHEtooperateforlongerintervalswithout
maintenance.Tocompensatefortheriskoffouling,S&Tmanufacturersoftenaddanexcessive
foulingfactormarginwhendesigningtheunits.Excessivefoulingfactorsresultinalargeextraheat
transferareathatcancauseoperationalproblemssuchasreducedflowvelocityduetolargershell
diameterwithlowerwallshearstressandearlierfoulingasaresult.ForPHEs,foulingfactorsand
overdimensioningareunnecessaryduetothealreadyhighturbulenceandwallshearstress.

Truecountercurrentflow
InthestandardconfigurationofaPHEthehotoilenterswherethecoolingwaterexits.Thisallows
thePHEtooperatewithatruecountercurrentflow.Whenhavingacountercurrentflowitis
possibletohandlecrossingtemperatureprogramsmeaningtheoiliscooledtoatemperaturebelow
theoutletofthecoolingwater.Furthermore,thecoolingwatercanbeheatedtoatemperaturevery
closetotheinlettemperatureoftheoil(closetemperatureapproach),makingitpossibletorecover
mostoftheheatforotherpurposessuchasheatingbuildings.
TohandleclosetemperatureapproachesinaS&Tthetubesaremadelonger,arrangedinmany
passeswithdifferentbaffleconfigurationsorseveraltubesareconnectedinseries.However,this
resultsinlowerchannelvelocityorhydraulicproblems,loweringthethermalefficiencyand
increasingfoulingproblems.Anotherdrawbackwithbafflearrangementsisthatitcancause
considerablevibrationsintheheatexchanger.

Extensioncapacity
Whenupgradingatransformerandwhenthereisaneedtoincreasethecapacity,theinstalled
coolingcapacitymightbeinsufficient.Replacingtheentirecoolingsystemisoftencostlyandtime
consuming.UnlikeS&Ts,theflexibledesignofthePHEallowsheattransfercapacitytobeextended.
Itissimplytounbolttheframeandaddplates.Dependingontheoriginaldesignitispossibleto
upgradethecapacitybyover50%.

Reducingoveralldimensions
AsignificantdifferencebetweenthePHEandS&Ttechnologyisthesize.Thebasiccompactdesignof
thePHEnaturallygivesasmallerfootprint.Furtherdifferencesaretheweightandfluidholdup
volume.AlreadywhencomparingtheemptyweightofanS&TandaPHE,theS&Tis1.54times
heavierthanaPHE.Thesamecomparisonwiththefluidholdupvolumegivesa720timeshigher
fluidvolumeintheS&T.Whentheheatexchangersareinoperationitmeansthattheweightofa
S&Tis26timeshighercomparedtoaPHE(seealsoexamplebelow).
Forhighcapacitycoolingsystemsthedifferenceinholdupvolumeforthetransformeroilcanbe
significant.Alargesystemwithaneedin100%redundancycouldmeananadditionalneedof2m3
transformeroilperpairofcoolers.
Exampleduty,transformeroilcooling:
Transformerlossestobedissipated:500kW
Oilflow:36l/s;oilin/out:70C/62C;coolingwaterin:30C

Weight(empty/operation)
Holdupvolume(oil/water)
Dimensions(length/width/height)
Foulingfactormargin

Extensioncapacity

DoublewallPHE
410/450kg
22/22dm3
1120/470/1080mm
0%

63%

DoubletubeS&T
700/1000kg
195/130dm3
2480/500/610mm
10%

Aspertheexampleabove,theweightoftheS&TisalmostdoublecomparedtothePHE.Sincethe
materialcostrepresentsaround50%oftheoverallcostofaheatexchangerthedifferenceinweight
willnaturallyalsoreflectthefinalcostoftheheatexchanger.

Doublewalldoublesafety
AlfaLavaldoublewallPHEscombinethehighefficiencyheattransferfromtheconventionalPHEs
withadesignwhicheliminatesanyriskofthefluidsintermixingastheypassthroughtheheat
exchanger.Thedoublewalltechnologyisdesignedwithtwoidenticalplatesthatarelaserwelded
togetheraroundtheportholes.Thechannelsareformedwhentheweldedplatepairsareassembled
inaplatepackandsealedwithgasketsintheconventionalmanner.
Intheunlikelyeventofleakage,thedoublewalltechnologyensuresthatnointermixingofthemedia
occurs.Anypunctureinoneofthedoubleplateswillresultinexternalleakagefrombetweena
specificpairofplates.Agasketdefectwillcauseanexternalleak,eitherdirectlyfromtheperipheral
gasketorfromthegasketventsopentotheair,andawelddefectwillcauseanexternalleakfrom
eitherthegasketventsorbetweentheplatesatthesiteofthefailure.