During design and selection, plate heat exchangers and shell-and-tube heat exchangers are often compared side by side. Plate-type structures offer high heat transfer efficiency and small footprint, but their gaskets are limited in temperature and pressure resistance; shell-and-tube types have strong pressure-bearing capacity, but are relatively bulky for the same heat transfer duty. When operating conditions fall between the two—design pressure not exceeding 2.5 MPa, design temperature not exceeding 180°C, and a compact structure desired—selectors often need to weigh the options repeatedly. The BRQ-135 plate-and-shell heat exchanger was developed for this range, placing plate heat transfer elements inside a shell, with the plate pack handling heat transfer and the shell handling pressure containment.
This model consists of a plate pack, shell, inlet/outlet nozzles, and sealing gaskets. The plates are stacked according to the flow channel arrangement and installed in the shell. Hot and cold media flow in adjacent plate channels, exchanging heat through the plate walls. The shell does not participate in heat transfer and mainly bears system pressure. Both ends of the plate pack are connected to nozzles via flanges. Compared with fully welded structures, this structure is easy to disassemble and clean; compared with ordinary plate heat exchangers, the shell provides additional pressure-bearing capacity.
Plate materials can be selected from 304, 316L stainless steel, or titanium based on medium corrosiveness; gasket materials are selected according to medium temperature: nitrile is suitable for oils and general water media below 80°C, EPDM is suitable for hot water and steam conditions below 120°C, and fluororubber can be used for corrosive media below 180°C. During on-site installation, gaskets from different batches must not be mixed, to avoid seal failure caused by differences in hardness and resilience. The design pressure range is 0.6 to 2.5 MPa, the heat transfer area per unit is adjusted by the number of plates, and nozzle diameters are matched to flow rate.
This model can be used for chilled water and cooling water heat exchange in HVAC systems, material heating or cooling in chemical processes, and liquid-liquid heat exchange in industrial waste heat recovery. During selection, the medium name, inlet and outlet temperatures, flow rate, allowable pressure drop, and chloride ion concentration must be provided to determine plate material, gasket material, and flow channel arrangement.
