In this new video on our Tempco Youtube channel we speak about a very interesting kind of plate heat exchangers, called PCHE exchangers, Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers.
These are heat exchangers that are realized using a very particular production process, involving the realization of plates and related channels using a technology similar to the one that’s employed for the realization of printed circuits. In fact, employing a sort of electrochemical etching process, the channels on plates are obtained following a customized layout that was previously prepared on a PC using a CAD software, then transferred the plate with a sort of ‘printer’, just to make it simple.
Clearly, the process isn’t so simple and predictable, it requires indeed a special and very particular know-how, but it allows to realize plate heat exchangers with very interesting characteristics. Very interesting because it’s plain to see that to be able to realize a kind of channel using this process allows to have maximum flexibility and total design freedom in the realization of the channels. So that therefore we’re no more limited to a mould required in the traditional physical printing of the plates, but we are using a mechanical processing.
Furthermore, we don’t have to realize a mould anymore in order to print the plate, but simply enjoying the freedom to create a layout and transferring it onto the plate.
The advantages offered by these PCHE exchangers are remarkable, because they also allow to create multi-stream exchangers. In traditional exchangers, it is in fact possible to have three-stream circuits, at maximum. With this construction process we can obtain multi-stream heat exchangers, with 3, 4 o 5 different streams. In the most suitable position and with diversified channels and circuits, so that if we have to handle different flow rates, different pressure drops and kind of thermal transfers we can let loose in the creation of dedicated channels.
The construction of the exchangers is then achieved using a special welding process called Diffusion Bonding, that allows to obtain heat exchangers without filler materials, and so in case of stainless steel, full-inox exchangers but also full-titanium, completely made in titanium, offering high pressure and high temperature resistance. High temperatures in terms of extreme levels in both directions, from cryogenic temperatures up to very high temperatures.
And this clearly opens to applications in a lot of different industrial sectors.
Clearly, there are also some disadvantages, such as the costs and production times, but these are widely rewarded and repaied by the fact of having plate heat exchangers with such high performances.