The Flat Plate Heat Exchanger in Comparison with Other Types of Heat Exchangers

The flat plate heat exchanger (also simply called a plate heat exchanger or a plate and frame heat exchanger) has both advantages and disadvantages compared to the widely shell and tube heat exchangers. A flat plate heat exchanger uses a metal heat exchanger plate between the two fluids to achieve a higher overall heat transfer coefficient than either a shell and tube heat exchanger or a spiral heat exchanger operating with the same two fluids. A flat plate heat exchanger is more compact than a shell and tube heat exchanger because of its general design and its high overall heat transfer coefficient. A plate heat exchanger is more susceptible to leakage and doesn't work as well with high temperatures or high temperature differences.