Investigation of the new corrugation pattern for low pressure plate condensers

The use of Plate Heat Exchangers (PHEs) as condensers for low pressure vapour is limited mostly because of relatively high pressure drop of condensing media. To overcome this obstacle the new principle of plate corrugation for low pressure plate-and-frame condensers is proposed. The proposed plate for condenser has the heat transfer area that consists of several differently corrugated sections along its length. Channels formed by such plates have the variable cross-section area. Pressure drop of single phase fluid in channels of such pattern was investigated experimentally and correlations for friction factor were obtained for each channel part formed by different sections of the plates. Based on analogy between heat and momentum transfer the equations to calculate film heat transfer coefficients in single phase flow and during condensation are proposed. To calculate condenser performance and local process parameters, the one dimensional mathematical model is used. Its validity is confirmed by comparison with literature data for condensation in PHE channels of investigated type. Case study results have shown the advantages of proposed approach. It enables to reduce considerably, about 40%, the pressure drop of condensing media, along with maintaining the level of heat transfer enhancement (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.