Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger (BHE)

Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers
-- Design and Construction
Brazed plate heat exchanger contains up to 200 herringbone-pattern-embossed plates of stainless steel construction. Every other plate is turned 180°, causing the ridges of adjacent plates to intersect one another, thus forming a lattice of contact points.
When these points are subsequently brazed together, the resulting unit is a compact, pressure-resistant heat exchanger in which almost all material is involved in the heat transfer process.
-- Size and Capacity
Today, many applications require small, efficient heat exchangers. One perspective on heat transfer is to use the traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger's design developed in the 19th century.
A shell-and-tube unit with the capacity to transfer 180,000 Btuh weighs 285 pounds and is over seven feet long. If you like massive equipment and want to pay for the material, shell-and-tube products will meet your needs.
The preferred choice is the brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE). A BPHE with the same capability of transferring 180,000 Btuh weighs only 44 pounds and is less than two feet high.
More than 90% of its mass constitutes highly efficient heat exchange surfaces which is why it is smaller in size. Compare almost any kind of heat exchanger technology with the BPHE and you will find the BPHE's efficiency is superior and the benefits are substantial.
-- Operation
The brazed plates form two separate channel systems. The two media assume a true countercurrent flow, completely isolated from each other. This channel configuration is designed to produce high turbulence, promoting maximum heat transfer.
-- Advantages
  BPHE units give you the opportunity to:
  -- Design more compact engineered systems.
  -- Install a more cost effective, superior solution to your heat transfer applications.
  -- Reduce cooling media volume, further reducing the cost of fluid handling systems and energy consumption.
  -- Simplify maintenance and repair.
-- Applications
  Brazed plate heat exchangers can be used for a variety of refrigerant applications:
  -- Condensers
  -- Evaporators
  -- Subcoolers
  -- Oil coolers
Other considerations include heat-pump, air conditioning, and chiller applications.