Control of Plate Heat Exchangers

Plate heat exchangers are important components of chemical processes and power industries;
they are being increasingly used in petrochemical processes due to their highly efficient heat
recovery and their compactness. Plate heat exchangers are probably the most common type of
heat exchangers applicable for a wide range of operating temperatures and pressures. Plate heat
exchanger weighs 95% less than comparable conventional shell and tube exchangers and
provides 1000–1500 square meters of heat transfer per cubic meters of exchanger volume. Also,
it has been widely used in the refrigeration system, and is indispensable refrigeration system
equipment that can be used as a condenser, evaporator, regenerator and intercooler for change
thermal equipment.

Some benefits of Plate Heat Exchangers:

Small physical size

Less fouling and scaling

Easy to maintain

No Cross Contamination

Improved heat transfer

Easy to adjust or increase output

Temperature approach is as low as 1 °C whereas shell and tube heat exchangers require an
approach of 5 °C or more

The main disadvantage of this type of heat exchangers is higher amount of pressure drop than
others. Due to presence of corrugated plate, there is a significant resistance to flow with high
friction loss. Through narrow path between the plates, there is a large pressure capacity and the
flow becomes turbulent along the path. Therefore, it requires more pumping power than the other
types of heat exchangers.

The work principle:

The plate heat exchanger (PHE) is a specialized design well suited to transferring heat between
medium- and low-pressure fluids. Welded, semi-welded and brazed heat exchangers are used for
heat exchange between high-pressure fluids or where a more compact product is required. In
place of a pipe passing through a chamber, there are instead two alternating chambers, usually
thin in depth, separated at their largest surface by a corrugated metal plate. The plates used in a
plate and frame heat exchanger are obtained by one piece pressing of metal plates. Stainless steel
is a commonly used metal for the plates because of its ability to withstand high temperatures, its
strength, and its corrosion resistance.
The plates are often spaced by rubber sealing gaskets which are cemented into a section around
the edge of the plates. The plates are pressed to form troughs at right angles to the direction of
flow of the liquid which runs through the channels in the heat exchanger. These troughs are
arranged so that they interlink with the other plates which forms the channel with gaps of 1.3–1.5
mm between the plates. The plates are compressed together in a rigid frame to form an
arrangement of parallel flow channels with alternating hot and cold fluids. The plates produce an
extremely large surface area, which allows for the fastest possible transfer. Making each
chamber thin ensures that the majority of the volume of the liquid contacts the plate, again aiding
exchange. The troughs also create and maintain a turbulent flow in the liquid to maximize heat
transfer in the exchanger. A high degree of turbulence can be obtained at low flow rates and high
heat transfer coefficient can then be achieved.

Mathematical model for Plate Heat Exchanger:

The conventional PID and fuzzy logic controllers have been implemented for temperature
control on the plate heat exchanger. The mathematical representation of the PID controller is
given by:

Controller tuning involves the selection of the best values of KC, TI and TD.

PID controller: A PID controller is an instrument used in industrial control applications to

regulate temperature, flow, pressure, speed and other process variables. PID (proportional
integral derivative) controllers use a control loop feedback mechanism to control process
variables and are the most accurate and stable controller. Approximately 95% of the closed loop
operations of industrial automation sector use PID controllers.
A PID temperature controller, as its name implies, is an instrument used to control temperature,
mainly without extensive operator involvement. A PID controller in a temperature control
system will accept a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple or RD as input and compare the
actual temperature to the desired control temperature or setpoint. It will then provide an output to
a control element.

Fuzzy logic controller: Fuzzy logic is a basic control system which relies on the degrees of state
of the input and the output depends on the state of the input and rate of change of this state. In
other words, a fuzzy logic system works on the principle of assigning a particular output
depending on the probability of the state of the input.

This controller works on the concept on deciding the output on the basis of assumptions. It works
on the basis of sets. Each set represents some linguistic variable defining the possible state of the
output. Each possible state of the input and the degrees of change of the state are a part of the set,
depending upon which the output is predicted. It basically works on the principle of If-else-then.

One of the aims of fuzzy sets theory is the development of a methodology for the formulation
and solution of problems that are too complex or too ill-defined to be analyzed by conventional
techniques.

Control Loop of PHE (Plate Heat Exchanger)

The temperature control is used to maintain a constant product temperature on the discharge side
of the heat exchanger. Overall, flow or temperature of cold stream should not be changed during
controlling. Because any slight shift can cause fouling or scaling in heat exchangers.

1) A flow meter is installed in the inlet to perform a feed forward action, compensating for
demand changes and allowing optimum outlet temperature control. The outlet temperature of the
heat exchanger is the process variable (PV). This is the input of the closed loop PID controller.
The product flow is measured and the signal transmitted to the US1000 as a feed forward input.
As the flow increases or decreases, the control output to the heating medium valve is varied
according to this change in flow and optimum temperature control can be achieved.
2) As a feedback control mechanism, outlet temperature of cold stream is measured and any shift
would cause to open or close the valve in the inlet hot stream.

1. Plate Heat Exchanger Design. To start, we need to know the peak demand from the DHW
circuit and the KW power available to correctly calculate the most suitable instantaneous PHE.

2. System Control Panel. The control panel will sense the secondary flow temperature leaving
the plate heat exchanger and send a signal to the modulating 3 or 4 port valve to close or open
depending on demand.

3. Primary 3 or 4 port valve. This valve will open or close as demand (temperature) increases or
decreases on the secondary flow out of the PHE.

4. Primary Heating Pump. This pump will circulate water at the correct design flow rate

5. Secondary Domestic Hot Water Outlets These outlets will be taps, showers, kitchen
appliances etc.

6. Secondary Cold Feed & Mains Kit. This is the point where fresh water enters the DHW circuit
to replenish used water.

7. Secondary DHW Circuit Pump. This pump maintains the correct flow between the cylinder &
PHE.

8. Secondary Temperature Sensor. This will sense the DHW flow temperature out of the PHE to
the outlets and tell the control panel to open or close the 3 or 4 port valve allowing more or less
hot water through on the Primary side of the PHE.

9. Secondary Non Return Valve. This NRV will stop mains water going backwards into the
DHW circuit and only allow system water to pass through to the PHE.

10. Boiler or Primary heat source .This is the heat source that will provide the KW power to heat
the Secondary Circuit.