Porthole gasket and assembly for a heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10871333-B2
Application number	US-201616062869-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 6, 2016
Priority date	Dec 16, 2015
Publication date	Dec 22, 2020
Grant date	Dec 22, 2020

Abstract

A porthole gasket to be installed between a corrugated first plate and a second plate of a heat exchanger such that a central extension plane of the gasket is parallel to the first and second plates is annular and arranged to enclose, within the gasket inner periphery, porthole areas of the first and second plates. A first surface of the gasket, configured to engage the first plate, is corrugated to define alternately arranged gasket ridges and gasket valleys along a longitudinal extension of the gasket. The ridges and valleys mate with plate valleys and plate ridges, respectively, of the first plate. A second surface of the gasket, configured to engage a plate arrangement comprising the second plate, is essentially plane and arranged to contact an essentially plane surface of the plate arrangement. The ridges protrude, and the valleys descend, in a normal direction of the central extension plane.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A porthole gasket for installation between a corrugated first plate, in a form of a heat transfer plate, and a second plate, in a form of an end plate, of a heat exchanger such that a central extension plane of the porthole gasket is parallel to the first and second plates, the corrugated first plate in the form of the heat transfer plate comprising plate ridges extending in an upper plane, plate valleys extending in a lower plane and a gasket groove configured to accommodate a plate gasket on a front side of the corrugated first plate, the porthole gasket being annular and arranged to enclose, within an inner periphery of the porthole gasket, a porthole area of the corrugated first plate and a porthole area of the second plate, wherein a first surface of the porthole gasket, which is arranged to engage with a back side of the corrugated first plate, is corrugated so as to define alternately arranged gasket ridges and gasket valleys along a longitudinal extension of the porthole gasket, the gasket ridges each possessing a top and the gasket valleys each possessing a bottom, the gasket ridges and the gasket valleys being arranged to mate with the plate valleys and the plate ridges, respectively, of the corrugated first plate, and a second surface of the porthole gasket, which is arranged to engage with a plate arrangement comprising the second plate, is essentially plane and not corrugated and is arranged to contact an essentially plane surface of the plate arrangement, the gasket ridges protruding, and the gasket valleys descending, in a normal direction of the central extension plane so that the tops of the gasket ridges are positioned elevationally above the bottoms of the gasket valleys when the second surface of the porthole gasket is facing downward in a direction perpendicular to the central extension plane, the porthole gasket possessing a width measured parallel to the central extension plane and perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the porthole gasket.

2. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the gasket ridges and the gasket valleys define the inner periphery of the porthole gasket.

3. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the first surface of the porthole gasket defines a first bead extending along the longitudinal extension of the porthole gasket and protruding from the gasket ridges and the gasket valleys in the normal direction of the central extension plane.

4. The porthole gasket according to claim 3 , wherein the first bead is located at and protrudes away from the respective top of the gasket ridges so that the first bead is elevationally above the respective top of the gasket ridges.

5. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the gasket ridges possess a maximum width, and a width of the porthole gasket along the gasket ridges is larger than the maximum width of the gasket ridges.

6. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the porthole gasket includes a first portion extending in the longitudinal extension of the porthole gasket, and a width of the porthole gasket along the gasket ridges is larger than a width of the porthole gasket along the gasket valleys in the first portion of the porthole gasket.

7. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the first surface at a plurality of the gasket valleys includes a recess that is elevationally below the bottoms of the gasket valleys, the recess extending in the normal direction of the central extension plane.

8. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , wherein the first surface defines a second bead extending along the longitudinal extension of the porthole gasket and connecting a plurality of the gasket ridges, the second bead protruding in the normal direction of the central extension plane, the second bead extending at a position spaced from the inner periphery of the porthole gasket.

9. The porthole gasket according to claim 1 , further comprising attachment means arranged to engage an edge portion of the first plate that defines a porthole of the first plate, for fastening the porthole gasket to the first plate, the attachment means engaging with and extending from the inner periphery of the porthole gasket.

10. The porthole gasket according to claim 9 , wherein the attachment means comprises a bridge which is spaced from the porthole gasket, a connection member connecting the bridge and the porthole gasket, and first and second fingers engaging with the bridge and extending from the bridge towards the porthole gasket, the connection member being arranged to engage with the back side of the first plate and the first and second fingers being arranged to engage with a front side of the first plate.

11. The porthole gasket according to claim 10 , wherein a shortest distance between an outer periphery of the porthole gasket and each of the first and second fingers is shorter than a width of the porthole gasket where the connection member connects to the porthole gasket.

12. The porthole gasket according to claim 10 , wherein the connection member connects to the porthole gasket at a first one of the gasket ridges, the first finger extends at least partly between the first one of the gasket ridges and an adjacent second one of the gasket ridges, and the second finger extends at least partly between the first one of the gasket ridges and an adjacent third one of the gasket ridges, the first one of the gasket ridges being arranged between the second one of the gasket ridges and the third one of the gasket ridges.

13. An assembly for a heat exchanger comprising the porthole gasket according to claim 1 installed between the corrugated first plate in the form of the heat transfer plate and the second plate in the form of the end plate such that the central extension plane of the porthole gasket is parallel to the first and second plates, wherein the porthole gasket encloses the porthole area of the first and second plates, the first surface of the porthole gasket engaging the plate ridges and the plate valleys of the first plate that are alternately arranged around the porthole area of the first plate, and the second surface of the porthole gasket engaging the essentially plane surface of the plate arrangement comprising the second plate that extends around the porthole area of the second plate.

14. The assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the first plate is an outermost heat transfer plate of a pack of mutually aligned heat transfer plates and the second plate is an end plate arranged to compress the pack of heat transfer plates.

15. The assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the porthole areas of the first and second plates are open.

16. A porthole gasket configured to be installed between a corrugated first plate, in a form of a heat transfer plate, and a second plate, in a form of an end plate, of a heat exchanger such that a central extension plane of the porthole gasket is parallel to the first and second plates, the corrugated first plate in the form of the heat transfer plate comprising plate ridges extending in an upper plane, plate valleys extending in a lower plane and a gasket groove configured to accommodate a plate gasket on a front side of the corrugated first plate, the porthole gasket possessing a longitudinal extension defining an annular shape to enclose, within an inner periphery of the porthole gasket, a porthole area of the corrugated first plate and a porthole area of the second plate, the porthole gasket possessing a first surface and a second surface that face in opposite directions, the first surface of the porthole gasket being arranged to

Assignees

• Alfa Laval Corp Ab

Inventors

• Hedberg Magnus

Classifications

• F28D9/0043

  the plates having openings therein for circulation of at least one heat-exchange medium from one conduit to another · CPC title

• F28F3/083

  capable of being taken apart · CPC title

• F28F3/10 Primary

  Arrangements for sealing the margins · CPC title

• F28F2230/00

  Sealing means · CPC title

• F28F2275/205

  with of tie-rods · CPC title