Plate evaporator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plate heat exchanger for the evaporation of a fluid which is comprised of a plurality of heat transfer plate pairs. Each plate of the pair has a ridged and grooved corrugation pattern. Between adjacent plates are flow spaces, each having an inlet and an outlet. The ridges of each plate of each pair abut the ridges of the other plate in the pair to form a plurality of supporting points. The flow spaces between alternate plates form passages for the fluid, and the remaining flow spaces form passages for a heating fluid. The importance of the invention is that at least alternate heat transfer plates have a plurality of zones with different corrugation patterns arranged sequentially in the direction of fluid flow in the passages. The ridges and grooves of each plate in the pair are arranged to provide a flow resistance which gradually decreases in the direction of fluid and generated vapor flow.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.