Extreme pressures and temperatures

The main characteristic of PCHE exchangers is the extreme robustness of the thermal transfer plate pack, which is created using a special solid-state welding process called diffusion bonding. Diffusion bonding uses special ovens in conditions of very high pressure and temperature, obtaining the welding of the material at the atomic level on all the contact surfaces of the plates used to assemble the plates pack, thanks to the diffusion of the crystalline structure of the metal achieved at lower temperatures compared to those required by the merging process. In this way, a monobloc structure with very high structural integrity is created, offering a very solid and compact thermal transfer pack, with extremely resistant welding joints and without the use of filler material or therefore additional weight.

Customized efficiency

Another peculiarity of PCHE exchangers is the photo-etching technique employed to realize the microchannels network on the surfaces of the plates for the passage of fluids. The special chemical etching process used is similar to the technique employed for the production of electronic printed circuits, eliminating the use of special molds and the mechanical stress on the plates involved in traditional molding systems. This process allows to create highly customized and complex networks of microchannels aimed at fluid flowing, in an extremely flexible manner and with total freedom, significantly increasing the heat transfer efficiency. The simplicity of creating the layout of the microchannels on the plates also allows to build PCHE exchangers even in multistream mode, with three, four or five different streams, creating dedicated channels to manage different flow rates, pressure drops and different types of heat transfer, being able to work simultaneously on multiple streams of fluids.

Compact and lightweight structure

The very compact structure, low weight and high reliability complete the characteristics of PCHE plate heat exchangers, along with the fact that they are highly versatile and suitable for use with a variety of fluids and working conditions. This makes them the ideal solution for a number of cooling and heating applications involving limited installation spaces, such as in the energy, oil & gas and sustainable mobility sectors, in high-pressure hydrogen refueling stations, or directly on board of vehicles, means of transport, trains and ships, in the mobility, aerospace and naval sectors.