Posts Tagged ‘Gaskets’
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
There are many types of heat exchangers out there, and the most common heat exchanger for high-pressure applications is the shell and tube heat exchanger. It’s name pretty much give this heat exchanger away, it consists of a shell, which is the pressure vessel, and contains a bundle of tubes inside the shell. Fluid A runs through the tubes, while Fluid B flows over the tubes (through the shell) and then the heat is transferred between the two fluids.
Koss Industrial, Inc. engineers and manufactures shell and tube heat exchangers, also know as u-tube heat exchangers. Pictured here is Koss’ version of a shell and tube heat exchanger, a u-tube heat exchanger model number HXU2.5-6X60.
What are Gaskets?
We all have some terms that we throw around everyday, but really have no idea what they mean. Some of the few that I can admit to not fully comprehending until recently are “fiber optics,” “pasteurization” and, although I used it less frequently, “string theory.” One term that I hear people say a lot but never really understood was “gasket.”
This term usually conjured up images of turn of the century plants with a variety of pipes and steam emitting nozzles, but I never knew what exactly they were. It turns out that gaskets are simply the mechanical seals that are used to fill the space between two surfaces. Now that I know what they are, I feel pretty foolish, especially since I see and use gaskets everyday.
Plate Heat Exchanger
A plate heat exchanger is a specific type of heat exchanger that uses metal plates in order to transfer heat between two fluids. Plate heat exchangers are more beneficial than the regular U-tube or straight tube heat exchangers because the fluids are exposed to a larger surface area due to the fluids capability to spread out over the plates. Now, the transfer of heat can take place while simultaneously increasing the speed of the temperature change.