21/05/2026
Regarding the breakdown of the PHE plate, the most important reasons are these 6 major reasons:
The plate heat exchanger is an important accessory on the refrigeration main unit. It is composed of a group of corrugated metal plates. There are four corner holes on the plate for the two kinds of liquids that transfer heat through, guiding the fluid to flow alternately through their respective channels for heat exchange. They are tightly arranged, have high precision, small size, high heat exchange efficiency, save space, and have high requirements for use in small refrigeration units. Generally, air conditioning equipment can be used for 15 to 20 years under normal maintenance, but the main reasons are analyzed as follows:
1. Maintenance issues. After a long period of operation, the plate heat exchanger needs to be cleaned regularly, usually once every two years. For example, the current plate heat exchanger can be disassembled and cleaned separately one by one, but the plate heat exchanger on the main unit of the refrigeration project cannot be disassembled. It can only be cleaned by opening the valves and wire blocks on the inlet and outlet pipes of the heat exchanger. Therefore, it is difficult to clean the heat exchanger, and it is easy to block and scale. Once some channels in the heat exchanger are blocked, the remaining channels must bear the flow of all the water of the unit. In this way, the flow rate flowing through the plate heat exchanger increases, the friction force increases, and the wear is accelerated.
2. Plate material replacement problem Compared with the heat exchange surfaces of other heat exchangers, the heat exchange surface of the plate heat exchanger is quite thin, that is, 0.5mm, and the maximum allowable corrosion is 0.05mm/year. The material of ordinary plate heat exchangers is usually made of alloy materials (304 or 316). 304 is the cheapest type of austenitic stainless steel. It has the ability to resist corrosion to a certain range of organic matter, but has weak resistance to hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid. Generally, the plate heat exchanger material of air conditioning main unit is 304, so after 8 years of use, the plate will break down and corrode.
3. The installation problem system is only equipped with "Y" type filters and no electronic water treatment device is installed, so it is difficult to ensure that the pipeline system does not have scaling. In addition, if the "Y" type filter is not cleaned in time, even tiny gravel that is basically not harmful to the shell and tube heat exchanger, it will also cause wear to the plate heat exchanger.
4. Problems with plate replacement processing technology. The plate processing technology of plate heat exchangers is unscientific, and the overall plate wall thickness is uneven, so perforation is prone to the thinnest part during normal use.
5. Problems with ambient temperature. The ambient temperature of the plate heat exchanger is too low. The plate breakdown is frozen. The content of the plate replacement is small. Does the structure have too much room for expansion, and it will be broken once it is frozen.
6. Problems of water quality in working conditions. The difference in water quality used in plate heat exchangers is not hidden, and most of them have not been purified or filtered, and scale and corrosion are common. This leads to more perforation of plate heat exchanger plates. I won't mention other a typical reasons such as water hammers and collisions.
Regarding the reasons for the breakdown of the plate heat exchanger plate, what else do you think is the reason?
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