Alfalaval M3 User manual

Description English
Plate Heat Exchanger 1
EN
EN
Description
Main components
Support
column
Frame plate Carrying bar
Carries the channel plates
and the pressure plate.
Connections
Holes through the frame plate,
permitting the media to enter into
the heat exchanger.
Threaded studs around the
holes secure the pipes to the ap-
paratus. Metallic or rubber-type
linings may be used to protect
the holes against corrosion.
Connections can also be pipes
for welding or threaded.
Tightening bolts
Press the channel
plates together.
Pressure plate
Moveable steel plate. In some cases
pipes may be connected to the pres-
sure plate.
Channel plates
Heat is transferred from one
medium to the other through
the thin channel plates.
The number of plates deter-
mines the total heat transfer
surface.
Guiding bar
Keeps the channel
plates in line at thei
r
lower end.
Bolt
protection
Pipe connections
Protective sheets
In the USA mandatory, in
other countries optional.

English Description
2 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Function
The plate heat exchanger consists of a pack of
corrugated metal plates with portholes for the pas-
sage of the two fluids between which heat transfer
will take place.
The plate pack is assembled between a frame
plate and a pressure plate and compressed by
tightening bolts. The plates are fitted with a gasket
which seals the channel and directs the fluids into
alternate channels. The plate corrugation pro-
motes fluid turbulence and supports the plates
against differential pressure.
Semi-welded PHE
For certain plate sizes there are semi-welded
plates (Cassettes) available. The function of the
semi-welded PHE is the same as that of the con-
ventional PHE. Chapters Installation and Opera-
tion of this manual are applicable to full extent.
Chapter Maintenance is fully applicable when it
comes to the parts Cleaning-in-Place and Pres-
sure test after maintenance and partially applica-
ble for the remaining part. To cover the specific
requirements of the semi-welded PHE a separate
additional manual has been made.
The B-plate is a plate
hanging with the chev-
ron pointing upwards.
The B-plate is a plate
hanging with the chevron
pointing downwards.
The A-plate is a plate
hanging with the chevron
pointing upwards.
M3, M6, M10, TS6 T2, T5
M3, M6, M10, TS6
Principle of plate pack arrangement
The A-plate is a plate
hanging with the chevron
pointing downwards.

Installation English
Plate Heat Exchanger 3
EN
EN
Installation
Requirements
N
o
t
e
!
• Before connecting any piping, make sure
all foreign objects have been flushed out of
the system.
• When connecting the pipe system make
sure the pipes do not subject the plate heat
exchanger to stress or strain.
• To avoid water hammer, do not use fast-
closing valves.
Safety valves should be installed according to
current pressure vessel regulations.
If PHE surface temperature is expected to be hot
or cold, the PHE should be isolated.
It is recommended that protective sheets are
used to cover the PHE.
For each model, design pressures and tempera-
tures are marked on the identification plate.
These must not be exceeded.
Pipes
Caution!
Make sure the pipe connections are
locked when working on the piping.
Turning of the connections will dam-
age the gaskets on the end plate
and cause leakage.
Shut-off valves
To be able to open the
heat exchanger, shut-off
valves should be provided
in all connections.
Space
600 mm minimum free space
is needed for lifting plates in
and out.
Multi-pass units: Connections on the
pressure plate
It is important that the plate pack has been tight-
ened to the correct measurement (check against
drawing) before the pipe is connected.
Elbow
To make it easier to
disconnect the plate
heat exchanger, an
elbow should be
flanged to the con-
nection in the pres-
sure plate, directed
upwards or side-
ways, and with an-
other flange located
just outside the con-
tour of the heat ex-
changer.
Foundation
Install on a flat foundation
giving enough support to
the frame.
Drip tray
Depending on the
type of fluid in the
PHE and the type of
installation, a drip
tray (drainage box)
may be nesessary
to avoid damages
on personnel and
equipment.

English Installation
4 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Lifting
Straps should be used when lifting. Place straps
according to picture.
Raising
Place two timber beams on the floor.
Lift the heat exchanger off pallet using e.g.
straps.
Place the heat exchanger on the timber
beams.
Place straps around one bolt on each side.
Lift the heat exchanger off the timber
beams.
Lower the heat exchanger to horizontal
position and place it on the floor.
Warning!
Never lift by the connections or the studs
around them.
1
2
3
4
5
6

Operation English
Plate Heat Exchanger 5
EN
EN
Operation
Start-up
Check that measurement A is correct. For
A, see enclosed PHE-drawing.
Check that the valve is closed between the
pump and the unit controlling the system
flowrate.
If there is a valve at the exit, make sure it
is fully open.
Open the vent and start the pump.
Open the valve slowly.
When all air is expelled, close the vent.
Repeat steps 1– 6 for the second media.
Note!
If several pumps are included in the system,
make sure you know which one should be
activated first.
Note!
Adjustments of flowrates should be made
slowly in order to avoid the risk of water
hammer.
Water hammer is a shortlasting pressure
peak that can appear during start-up or shut
-
down of a system, causing liquids to travel
along a pipe as a wave at the speed of
sound. This can cause considerable damage
to the equipment.
1
2
Closed
Open
3
4
Open
5
Open slowly
6
Close
7

English Operation
6 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Unit in operation
During operation, check that
media temperatures and pressures are
within the limits stated on the PHE-draw-
ing
no leakages appear due to faulty tighten-
ing of the plate pack or to defective or
damaged gaskets
support column, carrying bar and guiding
bar are kept clean and greased
the bolts are kept clean and greased.
Always consult your local Alfa Laval Representa-
tive for advice on
• new plate pack dimensions if you intend to
change number of plates
• selection of gasket material if operating temper-
atures and pressures are permanently
changed, or if another medium is to be proc-
essed in the PHE.
Shut-down
Slowly close the valve controlling the flow-
rate of the pump you are about to stop.
When the valve is closed, stop the pump.
Repeat steps 1–2 for the other side.
If the heat exchanger is shut down for sev-
eral days or longer, it should be drained.
Draining should also be done if the proc-
ess is shut down and the ambient temper-
ature is below freezing temperature of the
media. Depending on the media proc-
essed, it is also recommended to rinse and
dry the heat exchanger plates and connec-
tions.
Note!
Adjustments of flowrates should be made
slowly in order to protect the system
against sudden and extreme variations of
temperature and pressure.
No leakage
Clean and
greased
Note!
If several pumps are included in the system,
make sure you know which one should be
stopped first.
1
Close
2
3
4

Maintenance English
Plate Heat Exchanger 7
EN
EN
Maintenance
Cleaning-In-Place (CIP)
The Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) equipment permits
cleaning of the plate heat exchanger without opening
it.
If CIP cannot be done, cleaning must be performed
manually, see section “Manual cleaning”.
CIP performs
• cleaning of fouling and descaling of lime deposits
• passivation of cleaned surfaces to reduce sus-
ceptibility to corrosion
• neutralization of cleaning liquids before draining.
Follow the instructions of the CIP equipment.
CIP equipment
CIP model
Maximum number of plates
M3 M6 M6-M M10-B M10-M TS6-M
CIP 20 90 89 62 40 27 56
CIP 40 – 178 124 81 53 110
Cleaning liquids
Cleaning liquid Description
AlfaCaus A strong alkaline liquid, for removing paint, fat, oil
and biological deposits.
AlfaPhos An acid cleaning liquid for removing metallic oxides,
rust, lime and other inorganic scale.
AlfaPass An alkaline liquid for passivation (inhibition of corro-
sion).
AlfaNeutra A strong alkaline liquid for neutralization of AlfaCar-
bon or AlfaPhos before drainage.

English Maintenance
8 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Manual cleaning
Opening
Drain the plate heat exchanger.
Inspect the sliding surfaces of the carrying
bar and wipe clean.
Warning!
To avoid hand injuries owing to sharp
edges, protective gloves should always be
worn when handling plates and protective
sheets.
Warning!
If the heat exchanger is
hot, wait until it has cooled
down to about 40 °C
(104 °F).
1
2
Inspect

Maintenance English
Plate Heat Exchanger 9
EN
EN
Mark the plate assembly on the outside by
a diagonal line.
Measure and note down the dimension A.
Loosen and remove all bolts except the 4
at the positions indicated below. Use
these remaining 4 bolts to open the plate
pack according to the following scheme.
Be careful so that the plate and pressure
plate are always in parallel. Skewing of the
pressure plate during opening must not ex-
ceed 10 mm (2 turns per bolt) across the
with and 25 mm (5 turns per bolt) vertically.
See also point 5 under part “Closing”.
Open the plate pack by letting the pressure
plate glide on the carrying bar.
If plates are to be numbered, do this before
removing the plates.
Plates need not to be removed if cleaning
is done using only water, i.e. without clean-
ing agent.
Step Bolt No. To dimension
1 1–2–3–4 1,05A
2 1–2 or 3–4 Opening
3
Mark
4
5
6
Remove
the plates
Warning!
The plate pack may still contain a small re-
sidual amount of liquid after draining. De-
pending on the type of product and type of
installation special arrangments, e.g.
drainage box, may be necessary to avoid
damages on personnel and equipment.

English Maintenance
10 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Manual cleaning of opened units
Deposits removable with water and brush
Plates need not to be removed from the plate heat exchanger during cleaning.
Remove deposits using a soft brush and
running water.
Rinse with water using a high pressure
hose.
Deposits not removable with water and brush
Plates must be removed from the plate heat exchanger during cleaning.
Brush with cleaning agent. Rinse with water.
Caution!
Never use hydrochloric acid with
stainless steel plates. Water of more
than 330 ppm Cl may not be used for
the preparation of cleaning solutions.
It is very important that carrying bars
and support columns in aluminium
are protected against chemicals.
Note!
Be careful not to damage the gasket dur-
ing manual cleaning.
1 2
1 2

Maintenance English
Plate Heat Exchanger 11
EN
EN
Cleaning agents – Incrustation, scaling
Concentration max 4 %
Temperature max 60 °C (140 °F)
Incrustation – Scaling Sediment Cleaning agent
Calcium carbonate Corrosion products Nitric acid
Calcium sulphate Metal oxides Sulfamic acid
Silicates Silt Citric acid
Alumina Phosphoric acid
Diatomic organisms and
their excrement of various
colours
Complexing agents (EDTA, NTA)
Sodium polyphosphates
Cleaning agents – Biological growth, slime
Concentration max 4 %
Temperature max 80 °C (176 °F)
Biological growth – Slime Cleaning agent
Bacteria Sodium hydroxide
Nematodes Sodium carbonate
Protozoa Cleaning effect can be considerably increased by the addition of
small quantities of hypochlorite or agents for the formation of com-
plexes and surfactants.
Cleaning agents – Oil residues, asphalt, fats
Deposit Cleaning agent
Oil residues
Asphalt
Fats
Paraffinic naphta-based solvent (e.g. kerosine).
Note!
Gaskets in EPDM rubber qualities swell in these media. Contact
time should be limited to 30 minutes.
Caution!
The following solutions should not be
used:
• Ketones (e.g. Acetone, Methyletylke-
tone, Methylisobutylketone
• Esters (e.g. Ethylacetate, Butylacetate)
• Halogenated hydrocarbons (e.g.
Chloro-thene, Carbon tetrachloride,
Freons)
• Aromatics (e.g. Benzene, Toluene).

English Maintenance
12 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Closing
Check that all the sealing surfaces are
clean.
Brush the threads of the bolts clean, using
a steel wire brush. Lubricate the threads
with a thin layer of grease, e.g. Gleitmo
800 or equivalent.
Attach gaskets to the plates or check that
all the gaskets are properly attached.
Insert the plates with the herring bone pat-
tern positioned in alternate directions and
with the gaskets turned towards the frame
plate.
Press the plate assembly together. Tight-
ening is done in two steps, see figures be-
low. Be careful so that the frame plate and
the pressure plate are always in parallel.
Tighten the two diagonal pair of bolts alter-
nately until the plate package measures
1,10A.
After that bolts are tightened alternately
and diagonally, as shown in the figure be-
low.
1
2
3
Note!
If the gasket is wrongly positioned, it will
show by the fact that it rises out of the gas
-
ket groove or that it is positioned outside
the groove.
4
Step Bolt No. To dimension
1 1–2 or 3–4 1,10A
2 1–2–3–4 A
5

Maintenance English
Plate Heat Exchanger 13
EN
EN
Finally the middle pair of bolts, and upper
and lower bolts are tightened.
If the plates are correctly assembled, the
edges form a “honeycomb” pattern, see
picture below.
Pressure test after maintenance
Before start-up of production, whenever plates or
gaskets have been removed, inserted or exchanged,
it is strongly recommended to perform a pressure
test to confirm the internal and external sealing func-
tion of the PHE. At this test, one media side at the
time must be tested with the other side open to the
atmosphere.
The pressure testing shall be performed at a pres-
sure equal to the operating pressure of the actual unit
but never above the design pressure as stated on the
nameplate.
The recommended test time is 10 minutes.
Please note that PHE units for refrigeration applica-
tions and units with media not mixable with water
must be dried after hydrostatic pressure testing.
Please consult the local office/representative of the
supplier for advice on the pressure testing proce-
dure.
Note!
The actual measurement must never be less
than the A-dimension.
6

English Maintenance
14 Plate Heat Exchanger
EN
EN
Regasketing
Open the plate heat exchanger according
to page 8, and remove the plate that is to
have a new gasket.
Remove the old gasket.
Assure that all sealing surfaces are dry,
clean and free of foreign matter.
Attach the clip-on gasket to the plate. Slip
the gasket prongs under the edge of the
plate.
Proceed with the next plate to be regasket-
ed until all plates in need of regasketing
are done with.
Close the plate heat exchanger according
to page 12.
Glued gaskets
Separate gluing instructions will be delivered togeth-
er with the glue.
1
2
3
4
Note!
Make sure the two gasket prongs are in
correct position.
5
6