Leakage testing method for a plate heat exchanger
AssigneeSomerset Technical Laboratories Limited
InventorMichael Bowling
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vessel such as a dairy pasteuriser having a path B for product and a separate path A for coolant in intimate relationship is tested for leaks by circulating a donor fluid under pressure in path A whilst a recipient fluid such as clean tap water is circulated in path B. If the donor fluid is an electrolyte, a probe 12 is placed in path B to measure the conductivity of the recipient fluid. A rise in conductivity over a period indicates leakage between the two paths, the rate of change indicating the size of the leak. Alternatively, the donor fluid can be a gas, and leakage detected using an untrasound probe.
Claims4
A method of testing a plate heat exchanger, having a series of heat exchange plates, for leakage between physically separate first and second fluid paths arranged in an intimate heat exchange relationship via the series of heat exchange plates, which comprises:
- placing a donor fluid in the first path,
- placing a recipient fluid in the second path,
- applying a positive pressure differential between the donor and recipient fluids, and
- using electronic equipment to monitor for leakage of the donor fluid into the recipient fluid,
- the first and second paths being comprised in a heat exchanger for elevated temperature treatment of liquid food products, one of the first and second paths being a heating circuit and the other of the first and second paths being a product path.
A method of testing a plate heat exchanger, having a series of heat exchange plates, for leakage between physically separate first and second fluid paths arranged in an intimate heat exchange relationship via the series of heat exchange plates, which comprises:
- placing a donor fluid in the first path,
- placing a recipient fluid in the second path,
- applying a positive pressure differential between the donor and recipient fluids, and
- using electronic equipment to monitor for leakage of the donor fluid into the into the recipient fluid,
- the first and second paths being comprised in a pasteuriser, one of the first and second paths being a heating circuit and the other of the first and second paths being a product path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.