Plate heat exchanger

The customer

• Size: Medium-large company
• Sector: LNG operator
• Country: Germany

The Project

• Size: 80-100 man-hours
• Duration: 2-3 weeks

The Problem

• Poor flow distribution within the channels
• Chevron and channel geometry required optimisation
• Potential ice generation between the plates

Proposed solution

• Model the fluid flow for co-current and counter-current operation
• Phase change modelling for sub-zero energy carrying fluids

The simulations

• Steady-state CFD thermal simulation for the different flow scenarions (CFD analysis)
• Phase change study to obtain the areas where ice is prone to appear (CFD analysis)

Project overall results

• Optimised plates geometry for minimised stagnant zones and ice formation.
• Savings over £16,000 for the customer in prototyping and testing (estimate).
• Savings of more than 12 weeks in development time (estimate).