Method of making a plate package for a plate heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10024602-B2
Application number	US-201314437954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2013
Priority date	Nov 7, 2012
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

A plate package made according to the method includes first heat exchanger plates and second heat exchanger plates. Each heat exchanger plate has a first porthole, and the port hole of at least one of the heat exchanger plates is surrounded by a peripheral rim. The first heat exchanger plates and the second heat exchanger plates, are joined to each other and arranged side by side in such a way that the peripheral rims together define an inlet channel extending through the plate package. The peripheral rim of the first and/or the second heat exchanger plates has at least one through hole, forming a fluid passage allowing a communication between the inlet channel and the first plate interspaces. The at least one through hole is made in a condition in which the first and the second heat exchanger plates have been joined to each other to form the plate package.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of making a plate package for a plate heat exchanger, the method comprising;
providing a number of first heat exchanger plates and a number of second heat exchanger plates, each heat exchanger plate having a first porthole, wherein said port hole of at least one of the heat exchanger plates is surrounded by a peripheral rim,
arranging the first heat exchanger plates and the second heat exchanger plates side by side in an alternating order in which, the peripheral rims together define an inlet channel extending through the first and the second heat exchanger plates,
joining said first and second heat exchanger plates with each other to form the plate package, and
making, in a condition in which the first and the second heat exchanger plates have been joined to each other, at least one through hole in the peripheral rim of at least one of the first heat exchanger plate and the second heat exchanger plate.

2. A method of making a plate package according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one through hole is made by a thermal process using a laser beam process, an electron beam process or a plasma process.

3. A method of making a plate package according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one through hole is made by a mechanical process using a punching process or a drilling process.

4. A method of making a plate package for a plate heat exchanger, the method comprising:
arranging a plurality of first heat exchanger plates and a plurality of second heat exchanger plates side by side in an alternating order, each heat exchanger plate including a first porthole surrounded by a flanged portion of the respective heat exchanger plate to form a peripheral rim, the arranging of the plurality of first and second heat exchanger plates comprising arranging the first and second heat exchanger plates so that the peripheral rims together define an inlet channel extending through the first and the second heat exchanger plates;
joining the first and second heat exchanger plates with each other to produce the plate package in which first and second plate interspaces are formed in an alternating order between adjacent pairs of the first and second heat exchanger plates; and
forming a through hole in the peripheral rim of several of the first heat exchanger plates to form a fluid passage in the peripheral rim of each of the several first heat exchanger plates that allows communication between the inlet channel and the first plate interspaces, the forming of the through hole in the peripheral rim of several of the first heat exchanger plates occurring after the first and the second heat exchanger plates have been joined to each other.

5. A method of making a plate package according to claim 4 , wherein the through holes are made by a thermal process using a laser beam process, an electron beam process or a plasma process.

6. A method of making a plate package according to claim 4 , wherein the through holes are made by a mechanical process using a punching process or a drilling process.

Assignees

• Alfa Laval Corp Ab

Inventors

• Nyander Anders
• Zorzin Alvaro
• Romlund Jens
• Bermhult Rolf
• Svensson Magnus
• Sandstrom Olof

Classifications

• F28F9/0273

  with multiple holes · CPC title

• B23K2101/14

  Heat exchangers · CPC title

• Y10T29/49366

  Sheet joined to sheet · CPC title

• F28D2021/0071

  Evaporators · CPC title

• F28F3/10 Primary

  Arrangements for sealing the margins · CPC title