How it Works
See how Alfa Laval GPHE’s can be used for a variety of applications.
Liquid to Liquid
Steam Heater
Multi-Pass Designs
Flow Pattern There are three typical flow arrangements to consider: parallel, counter and cross flow.Parallel and counter flow patterns are both in line flow patterns: two fluid streams flow in the same direction or in the opposite directions.
Parallel
In this heat exchanger, two fluids enter the exchanger at the same end, and travel in parallel to one another in the same direction to the other side.
In this case, the two fluids enter the unit from the same end with a large temperature difference. As the fluids transfer heat from the hotter fluid to the cooler one, their temperatures start to approach one another.
Counter
Two fluids enter the unit from opposite directions and travel against one another. Because the cooler fluid exits at the end where the hot fluid enters the heat exchanger, the cooler fluid will approach the inlet temperature of the hot fluid.
Counter flow is the most efficient of the three types. In contrast to parallel flow, a counter flow heat exchanger can have the hottest cold fluid temperature greater than the coldest-hot fluid temperature.
Cross
Fluids travel perpendicular to one another through the exchanger, i.e., one fluid flows through tubes and the second fluid passes around the tubes at 90° angle. These units are usually found in applications where one of the fluids changes state.
An example is a steam system’s condenser, where the steam exiting the turbine enters the condenser shell side, and the cool water flowing in the tubes absorbs the heat from the steam, condensing it into water.