Compact And Cost-efficient Stainless Steel With Copper 1.0/2.0/3.0 Bar Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers/BPHE

Compact And Cost-efficient Stainless Steel With Copper 1.0/2.0/3.0 Bar Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers/BPHE

BPHE Construction

Brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) concept is a variation on the traditional plate and frame heat exchanger, but without gaskets and frame parts. Now, M&C's BPHEs are well-established components in refrigeration plants due to their compact, durable designs, ease of installation and cost efficient operation.

BPHE Material

The brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) consists of thin corrugated stainless steel plates vacuum brazed together using copper as the brazing material. Although idea for numerous applications, copper brazed units are not suitable for food applications and applications involving aggressive fluids. Here the optimal solution is plate heat exchanger made from 100% stainless steel.

BPHE Design

Brazing the stainless steel plates together eliminates the need for sealing gaskets and thick frame plates. As well as holding the plates together at the contact points, the brazing material seals the package. M&C's BPHEs are brazed at all contact points, ensuring optimal heat transfer efficiency and pressure resistance. The plates are designed to provide the longest possible lifetimes.

Since virtually all material is used for heat transfer, the BPHE is very compact in size and has a low weight and a low hold-up volume. M&C offers a flexible design that can be customized to meet your specific requirements.

M&C's BPHEs are the most cost-efficient solution for a broad spectrum of heat transfer duties.

Flow Principle

The basic flow principle in a brazed heat exchanger for refrigeration applications is parallel or diagonal flow to achieve the most efficient heat transfer process. In a single pass design all connections are located on one side of the heat exchanger, making installation very easy.

Condenser - flow principle

The main components are the same as for the evaporator. The refrigerant enters at top left of the exchanger as hot gas and starts to condense on the surface of the channels until fully condensed, and is then slightly subcooled. The process is called " free condensation".

           Evaporator, showing flow principle.                                                           Condenser, showing flow principle

Evaporator - flow principle

The channels formed between the corrugated plates and corners are arranged so that the two media flow through alternate channels, always in opposite directions ( counter current flow).

The two phase refrigerant (vapour + liquid) enters the bottom left of the exchanger with a vapour quality depending on the operating conditions of the plant.

Evaporation of the liquid phase takes place inside the channels and some degrees of superheat are always requested, which is the reason why the process is called "dry expansion".

In the illustration of an evaporator the dark and light blue arrows show the location of the refrigerant connections. The water (brine) to be cooled flows counter current in the opposite channels; the dark and light red arrows show the location of the water (bruine) connections.

Important Components In Refrigeration Applications

Installed for a wide range of duties in refrigeration applications worldwide, M&C's high performance BPHEs offer highest heat transfer performance with maximum reliability and cost efficiency.

M&C offers a complete portfolio of extreme high pressure BPHEs. They are ideal for all the different applications in transcritical CO2, systems. In refrigeration applications where M&C's BPHEs are installed, typical equipment includes:

Chiller

Cools water or brine and rejects the heat to air or water. The water is transported by a hydraulic system through different types of heat exchanger to cool air in an air conditioning system or to cool manufacturing or industrial processes. Two basic systems are normally used to drive chillers: a compressor driven by an electric motor, based on a vapour compression refrigeration cycle; or a heat-driven system (steam, burning natural gas), based on an absorption refrigeraiton cycle.

Heat Pump

A type of water chiller that can also run in a reverse cycle, also called a water-source heat pump. In this case the primary function is heating water and rejecting the cool to air or water. The heated water warms up air or water. The heated water warms up air in the air conditioning sustem. Another variation of this system is ground source heat pumps, using the earth or water surface to add or reject the heat.

BPHEs in refrigeration applications

The BPHE is an efficient solution for a range of functions in refrigeration applications. The most common of these involve transferring heat from two basic media: the refrigerant as the primary fluid (HFC or natural gas) and water or brines as the secondary fluid:

• Evaporator, dry expansion, cooling water;
• Condenser, rejecting or recovering heat to water;
• Desuperheater for partial heat recovery to water;
• Economizer, cooling liquid refrigerant and superheating vapour refrigerant.

Other possible functions

• Subcooler to cool down the liquid refrigerant using well water.
• Intermediate heat exchangers used in the absorption cycle to preheat the diluted solution or to pre-cool the concentrated solution.

Why choose M&C BPHEs?

• Compact, durable designs with consistently high quality; ease of installation.
• Extensive range of BPHE models providing cooling capacities from 0.5-600KW.
• M&C's system provides a substantial saving in heat transfer surface compared to BPHEs with traditional distribution system.
• Cost efficient: Space savings due to the compact design of BPHEs compared to shell- and-tube heat exchangers.
• Rapid response to remperature changes due to small hold-up volume and lower refrigerant charge.
• Optimized design for every duty with customized BPHE configuration to customer's own specifications.
• Every BPHE is pressure and leak tested before delivery, ensuring top quality products.
• M&C's continuous investments in R&D ensure the most competitive solutions.

 BPHE Technical Specifications