Series PPS Standard Plate Shell

Std Modules, Bolted Head

The Plate-Shell heat exchanger, PS, is a cross between a shell and tube, and a plate and frame heat exchangers. The PS has corrugated plates for the heat transfer surface, like those of a plate & frame, but they are round or oblong, and are placed into a shell, similar to a tube bundle placed into a shell & tube unit. These plates are welded together; unlike a plate and frame that have gaskets between every plate. The plate-shell can be put into services where a plate & frame cannot be used due to pressure, temperature, or gasket issues; and without the size and cost associated with the shell & tube. The PS is also the best selection for clean condensing services, bar none! The corrugated plates give higher heat transfer rates on the plate side, (cooler side), than from any other kind of plate or tube. These fluid side coefficients are closer to those of the condensing side, or shell side, which are normally very high in any heat exchanger. This matching makes the PS smaller that a Shell & Tube. The welded plates mean the PS will handle condensing services without the leaking problems that are prevalent with plate & frames. PS can be used in high vacuum, high pressure, or even high temperatures where gasketed plates are not an option. The welded PS plate packs are durable, reliable, and very cost effective.

The standard Plate-Shell is SS-316L, however PS heat exchangers can be manufactured from any metal that can be pressed and welded. This includes the popular process metals like Monel, C-276, Nickel 200, Alloy 20, and Titanium. All of these vessels are designed, fabricated and stamped in accordance with ASME, National Board, and CRN as appropriate.

Premium Process Equipment offers several types of plate-shell construction, some are standard and available with short lead times. PPE offers two kinds of shell construction, bolted and all welded, and two types of plate packs, modular (PPS series), and custom (PPB series).

The PPS series uses standard modules of about 20 to 40 plates per modules, (depending on plate size), that can be stacked together to form larger plate packs. This is a very flexible construction that allows a small inventory of plate modules to be quickly put into a variety of equipment sizes and duties. The standard modules are welded together to form a plate pack with the proper size. These packs can be removed from the shell for inspection, cleanout, or replacement. The plate pack modules are standardized so replacement packs are available very quickly, often from stock.

The PPB series plate pack is custom manufactured with the exact number of plates required for the application, all of these plates are welded into one large pack. The advantage is the that the plate pack is designed for the application with the exact number of plates and plate side passes, while the PPS series is in multiples of the standard module.

The bolted shell design allows the plate pack to be inserted through the bolted head, so gaskets are used with this head. The shell side and plate sides are separated by welded metal, but the plate pack can be removed.

The welded Plate-Shell uses either plate pack types, and the plate pack is welded into the shell to form a 100% welded construction heat exchanger, no gaskets at all. Naturally this construction is extremely rugged, but does not allow for mechanical cleaning or bundle replacement. This series is used most often in high temperature gas cooling applications, or in cryogen applications.

Standard material is SS-316L, standard gaskets Compressed non-asbestos.
Standard pressure rating, F=150psi, G=250psi, H=500psi; (all at 200ºF)
Max design temperature 600ºF. Max thermal differential, 400ºF

Model number method Example: PPS-26A-48-G-80-Z
PPS-26A	General module information, plate nozzle size
48	Number of plates
G	Pressure rating, MAWP, 250psi @ 200ºF for this unit
8	Shell nozzle size
Z	All models ending in "Z" indicate some customization, additional information will be required, (serial No, drawing No, etc) to fully describe this heat exchanger.