Performance Evaluation of Plate Heat Exchanger with Chevron Angle Variations

The objectives of this paper are to measure the heat transfer and pressure drop of the plate heat exchangers for absorption system applications. Three types of plate heat exchangers with different chevron angles are tested in the present experiment. Heat transfer and pressure drop performance of plate heat exchangers are measured in various operating conditions, and compared each other. The results show that the heat transfer rate of high theta (120°) and mixed theta plate heat exchanger increases about 118% and 98% at the solution flow rate 350 kg/h compared to that of low theta (60°), respectively. The effectiveness of high theta was evaluated about 0.53 ~ 0.85 in this experimental range. The experimental correlations of the Nu and f were developed with error bands of ±7% and ±12%.