Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
(OP)
Hi,
Please can someone confirm that by adding additional plates to a PHE, the effective pressure drop across the PHE will decrease.
My assumption is that since that path length has increased by the increased number of plates, the pressure drop would actually Increase and not Decrease as I have been told by a supplier.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Please can someone confirm that by adding additional plates to a PHE, the effective pressure drop across the PHE will decrease.
My assumption is that since that path length has increased by the increased number of plates, the pressure drop would actually Increase and not Decrease as I have been told by a supplier.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.





RE: Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
The primary pressure drop in a plate and frame exchanger takes place in the path(s) between the plates. Therefore, the pressure drop decreases as the number of plates is increased. Since pressure drop is approximately proportional to the square of the (interplate) velocity, it is inversely proportional to the square of the number of plates. This assumes that the plate pattern is consistent throughout the exchanger.
Regards,
speco (www.stoneprocess.com)
RE: Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
RE: Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
RE: Affect on pressure drop if no. of plates are increased on a PHE
It decreases your heat transfer in each of the original paths but adds the additional heat transfer of the new paths. Rarely in my experience does it break even. Normally the heat transfer overall decreases with the addition of plates.
rmw