ABSTRACT
Gasketed-plate heat exchangers were introduced in the 1930s mainly for the food industries because of their ease of cleaning, and their design reached maturity in the 1960s with the development of more effective plate geometries, assemblies, and improved gasket materials. The transition to turbulence flow occurs at low Reynolds numbers of 10–400. The high turbulence in a gasketed-plate heat exchanger leads to very high transfer coefficients, low fouling rates, and reduced size. The thin plates cut down the metal wall resistance to the minimum. Capabilities of the gasketed-plate heat exchangers are limited due to the plates and the gaskets. Gasketed-plate heat exchangers are less suitable for condensing duties. Fluid maldistribution is a potential problem in any system of interconnected channels, including gasketed-plate heat exchangers, and must be considered carefully in the design of gasketed-plate heat exchangers. As a consequence of high turbulence over the entire plate surface, erosion problems can be more significant in gasketed-plate heat exchangers.
