In heat exchange sections of chemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries, O&M personnel often face maintenance scenarios where plate-frame fin heat exchangers coexist with shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers. Compared with the latter two, the fin channels and plate sealing structure of plate-frame fin heat exchangers impose different requirements on maintenance methods. The BRF-85 model specifies a design pressure of 1.6 MPa and a design temperature of 200°C, and the nameplate indicates the medium flow direction, making it easy for O&M personnel to check against and verify, avoiding long-term overpressure and overtemperature operation.
Conventional plate heat exchangers mostly use full-plate removal for cleaning, whereas the fin area of plate-frame fin heat exchangers is prone to fouling and has small gaps. It is recommended to periodically flush with low-pressure water or special cleaning agents according to the medium conditions, avoiding direct impact on the fins with high-pressure water guns. When removing and inspecting plates, the gasket compression amount should be recorded. Compared with the maintenance cycle of shell-and-tube heat exchangers under the same working conditions, the sealing gasket replacement frequency of plate-frame fin heat exchangers is usually slightly higher, and gaskets of the same specification should be kept on site. Regarding materials, carbon steel is suitable for general industrial water or oil conditions; 304 stainless steel is suitable for weakly corrosive media; for conditions with chloride ions or large acid-base fluctuations, 316L material is recommended.
Compared with solutions that rely solely on system pressure gauges for monitoring, the BRF-85 model recommends installing temperature and pressure measurement points at the inlet and outlet respectively, and periodically checking against nameplate parameters. The medium flow direction and actual operating parameters should be noted in O&M records for designers to verify. If a continuous rise in pressure difference is found, priority should be given to investigating blockage on the fin side rather than directly increasing pump pressure, so as to avoid exceeding the design pressure of 1.6 MPa. The heat exchange area and plate combination method can be adjusted according to working conditions; during modification and replacement, the interface direction and gasket material need to be re-verified.
