Plate heat exchanger pressure drop is too large listen to the story to understand the causes and effective treatment methods!
In a cold winter, a large heating company's plate heat exchanger suddenly appeared too large a pressure drop problem, resulting in a significant reduction in the heating effect, the residents complained. The head of the company, Mr. Li, had a headache over this and decided to investigate and solve the problem himself. The story happened on the newly installed heating system. Manager Li's first thought was that the new system may not have been blown clean. Sure enough, during the inspection of the plate heat exchanger, he found that a large amount of weld slag and other dirt had gathered in the corner holes and in the guide area, which seriously reduced the area of the flow path and led to a large pressure drop. The new system of "break-in period" Manager Li recalled that in the early operation of the new system, due to the tight schedule, they failed to follow the provisions of the pipeline to carry out a thorough blowing. This resulted in a large amount of dirt being deposited inside the heat exchanger. After cleaning up the dirt, the pressure drop of the heat exchanger did improve significantly. However, it was not long before the problem of excessive pressure drop reappeared. Selection errors in the lessons learned after further investigation, Manager Li found that the initial selection of plate heat exchanger area is small, resulting in the flow rate between the plate is too high, resulting in a large pressure drop. In order to solve this problem, the company had to re-acquire a larger area of the heat exchanger. This lesson allows Manager Li to deeply realize the importance of selection. Scaling triggered a "chain reaction" in the replacement of the heat exchanger, the heating effect has been temporarily improved. However, after a period of time, the heat exchanger pressure drop increased again. This time, the problem lies in the plate surface scaling. Manager Li used a chemical immersion cleaning method, successfully removed the scale on the plate. In order to avoid similar problems again, he decided to clean the heat exchanger regularly. Unexpected solution after solving a series of problems, Manager Li found that the water quality of the secondary circulating water is also a key factor affecting the operation of the heat exchanger. He decided to soften the secondary circulating water to ensure that the water quality meets the required standards. This initiative has achieved remarkable results, heat exchanger operation is more stable. Unexpectedly, but reasonably after a series of rectification, the pressure drop problem of the heating system has been completely solved. Residents are satisfied with the heating effect, the company also avoided losses due to equipment failure. Manager Li was overwhelmed with emotion: a small heat exchanger, but involved in so many links, any one link of negligence may lead to problems. The problem-solving process, so that he deeply realized the details determine success or failure. And this story has become a good story within the company, reminding every employee: in daily work, rigorous attitude and fine operation is so important.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
