Plate kind heat exchanger with sealed inlet channel

Abstract

A plate kind heat exchanger (1) has a plurality of stacked plates (2) forming flow paths for heat exchanging fluids there between, a first inlet channel being fluidly connected to inlets of a first set of flow paths, a second inlet channel being fluidly connected to inlets of a second set of flow paths, a first outlet channel being fluidly connected to outlets of the first set of flow paths, and a second outlet channel being fluidly connected to outlets of the second set of flow paths. The first inlet channel is provided with a stack (15) of rings (5) forming fluid passages towards the inlets of the first set of flow paths. Each ring (5) has a first rigid shell member (6) and a second rigid shell member (7), the first rigid shell member (6) and/or the second rigid shell member (7) defining a groove (9) providing fluid passage from the first inlet channel to one of the flow paths of the first set of flow paths, and a sealing member (8) formed from a compressible material, the sealing member (8) being positioned between the first rigid shell member (6) and the second rigid shell member (7). The stack of rings (15) is subjected to a force which presses the rings (5) towards each other and compresses the sealing members (8) of the rings (5), thereby providing sealing towards the flow paths of the second set of flow paths.

1 . A method for manufacturing a plate kind heat exchanger, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a plurality of plates,   forming a plurality of rings by, for each ring:   providing a first rigid shell member, a second rigid shell member, and a sealing member made from a compressible material, the first rigid shell member and/or the second rigid shell member defining a groove, and   arranging the sealing member between the first rigid shell member and the second rigid shell member,   forming a stack of the plurality of plates, thereby forming flow paths between the plates, and forming a stack of the plurality of rings, the stack of rings being arranged in an inlet channel formed in the stack of plates, and   pressing the rings towards each other, thereby compressing the sealing members and providing sealing towards a second set of flow paths formed between the plates.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a plurality of plates comprises, for each plate, punching one or more through-going holes in the plate, wherein the through-going holes in the plates form inlet channels and/or outlet channels of the plate kind heat exchanger when the plates are stacked, and wherein the step of providing a first rigid shell member and/or the step of providing a second rigid shell member is/are performed as part of punching the one or more through-going holes in the plates. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of restraining the stack of rings after compressing the sealing members, thereby maintaining the sealing members in a compressed state and maintaining the sealing towards the second set of flow paths.