Heat exchangers

Abstract

Abstract HEAT EXCHANGERS FOR TRANSFER OF HEAT FROM ONE FLUID TO ANOTHER THROUGH THIN WALLED MEMBERS MADE OF A PLASTICS MATERIAL RESISTANT TO CORROSIVE ACTION OF THE FLUIDS. THE HEAT EXCHANGER IS A BLOCK FORMED FROM PLATES OF PLASTICS MATERIAL SPACES APART FROM EACH OTHER, AT LEAST OVER AREAS INTERMEDIATE THEIR EDGES, FOR FLOW OF FLUID THEREBETWEEN AND SPACERS OF PLASTICS MAERIAL AT OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE PLATES FORMING SEALS BETWEEN ADJACENT PLATES AT THE EDGES AND DEFINING PASSAGES FORFLUIDS BETWEEN SPACED APART AREAS OF THE PLATES. IN ONE EMBODIMENT ONE SET OF PASSAGES TERMINATES AT ONE PAIR OF FACES OF THE BLOCK AND ANOTHER SET OF PASSAGES, NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE FIRST SET, TERMINATES AT A DIFFERENT PAIR OF FACES OF THE BLOCK. THUS A FLUID OF ONE TEMPERATURE CIRCULATES ADJACENT A FLUID OF A DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE, THE FLUIDS BEING SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER BY A THIN WALLED MEMBER. SUITABLLE PLASTICS MATERIALS INCLUDE ANY POLYMERIC MATERIAL CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING THE TEMPERATURE, PRESSURE AAND CORROSIVE CONDITIONS WITHIN THE HEAT EXCHANGER. ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIALS INCLUDE POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE, HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE AND POLYPROPYLENE. SHEET THICKNESS, SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE FLUID SEPARATION YET THIN ENOUGH TO PROVIDE FOR SUFFICIENT HEAT TRANSFER, IS USUALLY FROM 0.01-1.0 MM., PREFERABLY 0.25-0.5 MM. SPACER THICKNESS IS NOT CRITICAL BUT SHOULD BE CHOSEN TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH THE EXCHANGER.

Inventors

No inventors recorded.

Bibliographic Details