Plate heat exchanger

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pair of heat exchanger (AB) plates (A, B), comprising a first heat exchanger plate (A) and a second heat exchanger plate (B), which are disposed facing one another and are spaced apart from one another so as to define an internal volume that is able to form a channel for the flow of a first fluid (F1), and each comprising a central panel (A0, B0. Said central panels are quadrilateral or quadrilateral with optionally truncated, cut-off or rounded edges, and are flat and mutually parallel. Two opposite sides of the central panel (A0) of the first plate (A) are inclined with respect to said central panel (A0) in the direction of the second plate (B) and form first joining panels (P1, P2) that come into contact with the two corresponding flat opposite edges of the central panel (B0) of the second plate (B).

1 . A pair of heat exchanger (AB) plates (A, B), comprising a first heat exchanger plate (A) and a second heat exchanger plate (B), which are disposed facing one another and are spaced apart from one another so as to define an internal volume that is able to form a channel for the flow of a first fluid (F 1 ), and each comprising a central panel (A 0 , B 0 ), said central panels being quadrilateral or quadrilateral with optionally truncated, cut-off or rounded edges, and being flat and mutually parallel, characterized in that two opposite sides of the central panel (A 0 ) of the first plate (A) are inclined with respect to said central panel (A 0 ) in the direction of the second plate (B) and form first joining panels (P 1 , P 2 ) that come into contact with the two corresponding flat opposite edges of the central panel (B 0 ) of the second plate (B). 
     
     
         2 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that said first joining panels (P 1 , P 2 ) are mutually symmetric with respect to a first median axis (x) of the central panel (A 0 ). 
     
     
         3 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that at least one, and in particular all, of the first joining panels (P 1 , P 2 ) of the central panel (A 0 ) of the first plate (A) comprise(s) a first part (P 1A ; P 2A ) extending from the central panel and a second part (P 1B ; P 2B ) extending from said first part, said first part forming an angle (α) with the central panel (A 0 ) and said second part being parallel to said central panel (A 0 ). 
     
     
         4 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 3 , characterized in that the angle (α) between the first part of the first joining panel (P 1A ; P 2A ) and the central panel (A 0 ) is at least 45°, in particular between 80 and 110°. 
     
     
         5 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that the two other opposite sides of the central panel (A 0 ) of the first plate (A) are inclined with respect to said central panel (A 0 ) in the direction away from the first joining panels and form second joining panels (P 3 ; P 4 ), in particular in order to come into contact with the corresponding opposite edges of the central panel of a third plate. 
     
     
         6 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 5 , characterized in that one, and in particular all, of the second joining panels (P 3 ; P 4 ) of the central panel of the first plate (A) comprise(s) a first part (P 3A ; P 4A ) extending from the central panel (A 0 ) and a second part (P 3B ; P 4B ) extending from said first part, said first part forming an angle (β) with the central panel (A 0 ) and said second part being parallel to said central panel (A 0 ). 
     
     
         7 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 6 , characterized in that the angle (β) between the first part of the second joining panels (P 3A ; P 4A ) and the central panel (A 0 ) is at least 45°, in particular between 80 and 110°. 
     
     
         8 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that the two other opposite sides of the central panel (B 0 ) of the second plate (B) are inclined with respect to said central panel (B 0 ) in the same direction as the first joining panels (P 1 , P 2 ) and form third joining panels (R 3 ; R 4 ), in particular in order to come into contact with the corresponding opposite edges of the central panel of a fourth plate. 
     
     
         9 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 8 , characterized in that one, and in particular all, of the third joining panels (R 3 ; R 4 ) of the central panel (B 0 ) of the second plate (B) comprise(s) a first part (R 3A ; R 4A ) extending from the central panel (B 0 ) and a second part (R 3B ; R 4B ) extending from said first part, said first part forming an angle (θ) with the central panel (B 0 ) and said second part being parallel to said central panel (B 0 ). 
     
     
         10 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 6 , characterized in that the second joining panels (P 3 ; P 4 ) and/or third joining panels (R 3 ; R 4 ) are different from the first joining panels (P 1 ; P 2 ), in particular in terms of width and/or of inclination with respect to their respective central panels. 
     
     
         11 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that the plates are joined together by welding between a flat edge of one of the plates (B) and a flat part of a joining panel (P 1 , P 2 ) of the other plate (A). 
     
     
         12 . The pair of plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that the two plates are geometrically different than one another. 
     
     
         13 . A stack of pairs of heat exchanger plates (A, B) comprising at least two successive pairs of spaced-apart plates as claimed in  claim 1 , denoted first pair of heat exchanger plates and the second pair of heat exchanger plates, wherein:
 said first pair and said second pair are disposed so as to be mutually parallel and to face one another, the space between the plates of each pair forming a channel for receiving a first flow of fluid (F 1 ),   the space between the first and the second pair of heat exchanger plates forms a channel for receiving a second flow of fluid (F 2 ), said second pair being preferably identical to said first pair or being a mirror image of said first pair.   
     
     
         14 . The stack of pairs of heat exchanger plates (A, B) as claimed in  claim 13 , characterized in that two successive spaced-apart pairs are connected laterally by closure means, said closure means comprising preferably an edge bar, a C-profile or U-profile cover plate, or a suitable flat cover plate. 
     
     
         15 . A plate heat exchanger comprising pairs (A, B) of heat exchanger plates or stacks of pairs of heat exchanger plates as claimed in  claim 1 , said pairs or stacks of pairs being disposed in a frame. 
     
     
         16 . A method for manufacturing a stack of at least two pairs (A, B) of heat exchanger plates as claimed in  claim 1 , said method comprising the following steps:
 preparing at least four plates, each having a four-sided central panel (A 0 , B 0 ),   on the one hand, for at least two of said central panels(A 0 ), bending a first and a second opposite side so as to form first joining panels (P 1 ; P 2 ), said first joining panels each comprising a first part that is inclined with respect to the central panel, said first joining panels being preferably mutually symmetric with respect to a median axis (x) of the central panel (A 0 );   on the other hand, optionally either bending said third and fourth sides of the at least two central panels in the direction away from the first and second joining panels so as to form second joining panels (P 3 ; P 4 ), said second joining panels comprising a first part, which is inclined with respect to the central panel, said joining panels being preferably mutually symmetric with respect to a median axis (y) of the central panel; or bending said first and second sides of at least two of the other central panels so as to form third joining panels (R 3 ; R 4 ), said third joining panels comprising a first part, which is inclined with respect to these two central panels, said second or third pairs of joining panels being preferably mutually symmetric with respect to the second median axis (y, y′) of the central panel in question;   disposing the heat exchanger plates in two stacks, namely a first stack of mutually identical plates, and a second stack of mutually identical plates that are preferably different than the plates of the first stack,   forming at least two pairs of plates, each pair being assembled from a plate from the first stack and another plate from the second stack, by fixing the first joining panels of one of the plates to the corresponding flat edges of the other plate, the space between the two plates of each pair forming a first fluid channel,   joining together at least two pairs of plates thus formed, the space between the pairs of heat exchanger plates forming a second fluid channel, by fixing second joining panels (P 3 ; P 4 ) or third joining panels (R 3 ; R 4 ) of a plate of one pair to the flat edges of a plate of an adjacent pair or laterally via closure means.