JPH0979771A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Problem] To enable optimal adjustment according to a product to be processed. An end surface of a housing (11) is tightly closed by head plates (13, 14) and has inlets (26, 27, 28) and outlets (31, 32, 33) of a heat carrier medium. The chamber 16 is provided with a plurality of product passages 35 having a rectangular cross section, arranged parallel to each other, the product passages being coplanar with the end face of the housing 11, and the inner chamber 16 of the housing 11 being Middle wall 1
It is formed so as to be divided into a plurality of partial chambers 21, 22 and 23 by 9, 20, and the length of the flow path for the product in the heat exchanger can be changed according to the configuration of the head plates 13 and 14. A product passage 35 corresponding to an inlet 39 of a product to the heat exchanger 10, a product passage corresponding to an outlet 41 of a product from the heat exchanger 10. It has a height h smaller than 35 and a cross-sectional area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plate-structured heat exchanger for heating or boiling a product in the confectionery industry, for example, a sugar-containing solution mixture or a mixture with a sugar substitute. The end faces are closed tightly by one head plate each and have at least one inlet and one outlet for the heat-carrying medium and have a rectangular cross section arranged parallel to one another in the interior of the housing. A plurality of flow-through elements are provided, which flow-through elements are flush with the end face of the housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Plate-structured heat exchangers of this type for use in the food industry and the luxury goods industry are disclosed, for example, in German Patent Application No. 311.
It is known from the specification of 7496. In order to reduce the flow resistance of viscous products, this known heat exchanger has a plurality of distribution pipes extending over its upper surface. These distribution pipes are open to the plate passage. The flow of the product is based on the falling flow principle, and the product flows through the plate passage from the upper side to the lower side. Such plate-structured heat exchangers, designed for low flow resistance, have been subject to conditions for use in the confectionery industry, mainly for boiling sugar-containing solution mixtures and mixtures with sugar substitutes. Only suitable for. In the confectionery industry, the length of the flow path of the product in the heat exchanger can be easily changed, which allows the heat exchanger to have a desired length and thus a desired residence adapted to each product and flow-through. It is desirable to give time. On the other hand, the heat transfer from the heating medium, e.g. steam, to the product is also carried out in order to achieve an optimum tailoring of the product, and thus also the gentle heating of sensitive products. A wide variety of variations in the temperature difference between the product and the heating medium is desirable. Furthermore, for food hygiene reasons,
Good and easy cleaning and inspectability of the product compartment should be provided, for example based on the design of the product compartment without dead space, which in turn shortens the time for reassembling one product to the other. Is desirable. In the confectionery industry, the so-called "snake-tube type boiling device" has disadvantages in terms of configuration size and degree of freedom for boiling the above-mentioned product because of its simple cleaning ability, as compared with the plate structure type heat exchanger. Is widespread.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to improve a heat exchanger of the type mentioned at the outset and to provide a heat exchanger in which the optimum adjustment is obtained for the product to be treated. Is.

[0004]

In order to solve this problem, in the structure of the present invention, the inner chamber of the housing is formed by at least one separation element so as to be divided into a plurality of partial chambers, and the heat exchanger is formed. The length of the flow path for the product inside can be variably formed according to the configuration of the head plate, the head plate is formed replaceable,
A flow element corresponding to the product inlet to the heat exchanger
It had a smaller height and cross-sectional area than the flow element corresponding to the exit of the product from the heat exchanger.

[0005]

The plate structure type heat exchanger according to the present invention has the following advantages over the conventional ones. That is, the heat exchanger according to the present invention can be easily adjusted with respect to the flow length, the transverse cross section of the heat exchanger, and the amount of heat to be transferred according to the product to be processed. Furthermore, the product compartment of the heat exchanger according to the invention is easy to clean,
Allows adjustment for various products.

Further advantages and advantageous refinements of the heat exchanger according to the invention are obtained with the features of the subclaims. If the heat circuit can be controlled separately and the subchambers have, for example, different temperatures from one another, a particularly good adjustment to the product and a gentle heating of the product are possible. Another simple adjustability is to change the mutual spacing of each product passage. By varying the height or flow cross section of each product passage, the flow rate of the product in the heat exchanger can be adjusted. Another optimization for each product to be processed is possible by incorporating static mixing elements in the product passage.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The plate-structured heat exchanger 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is advantageously used for heating or boiling a sugar-containing solution mixture and a mixture with a sugar substitute in the confectionery industry. . Such a mixture is referred to below simply as product. The housing 11 of the heat exchanger 10 has a box-shaped central part 12, which at each end face has a sealing element (not shown).
The head plates 13 and 14 are tightly closed by way of each. Both head plates 13, 14 are advantageously connected to the central part 12 by means of a quick closure (also not shown). As a result, the head plates 13 and 14 can be replaced in a relatively short time.

The inner chamber 16 of the housing 11 is the housing 1
It is divided into three sub-chambers 21, 22, 23 by two parallel intermediate walls 19, 20 arranged parallel to the upper surface 17 or the lower surface 18 of one. These partial chambers 2
1, 22, 23 include one side wall 24 of the housing 11.
At each one inlet 2 for heating medium, eg steam
6, 27 and 28 are open. Entrance 26, 27, 28
Are arranged at the highest points of the respective partial chambers 21, 22, 23 near the upper surface 17 or the intermediate walls 19, 20. On the other side wall 29 of the housing 11, outlets 31, 32, 33 for the heating medium are arranged for each subchamber 21, 22, 23, respectively. These exits 3
1, 32 and 33 are the lowest parts of the corresponding partial chambers 21, 22 and 23, respectively, and are the intermediate walls 19 and 20 or the lower surface 1.
8 is located near. Depending on the arrangement of the inlets 26, 27, 28 or the outlets 31, 32, 33, each partial chamber 2
A simple outflow of condensed heating medium from 1, 22, 23 is possible.

Since each of the partial chambers 21; 22; 23 is a constituent part of a separate heat circulation path (not shown), each of the partial chambers 2
The temperature of the heating medium in 1; 22; 23 can be controlled separately.

Each subchamber 21, 22, 23 is penetrated by three product passages 35 each having a rectangular cross section.
All these product channels 35 are arranged parallel to one another and are formed linearly without undercuts. The length of the product passage 35 is set so that the product passage 35 is located on the same plane as the end surface of the central portion 12 of the housing 11 or the head plates 13 and 14. Since the width b of the product passage 35 is formed smaller than the width B of the housing 11, a space remains between the product passage 35 and the side walls 24 and 29 of the housing 11. The height h of the product passage 35 is the same in each of the partial chambers 21; 22; 23, but they are different from each other. In the partial chamber 23 facing the lower surface 18 of the housing 11, the height h1 of the product passage 35 is formed to be the smallest, while the partial chamber 21 facing the upper surface 17 is formed.
In, the height h3 of the product passage 35 is formed to be the largest. In the middle partial chamber 22, the height h2 of the product passage 35 is
Is between height h1 and height h2. From this, it can be seen that the cross section of the product passage 35 in the partial chamber 21 is formed to be the largest, while the cross section of the product passage 35 in the partial chamber 23 is formed to be the smallest.

In order to allow good mixing of the products flowing through the product passages 35, it is possible to introduce in each product passage 35 a static mixing element 37 known per se. This mixing element 37, which is adapted to the corresponding height h of the product passage 35, consists for example of a thin plate with protruding embossments, tongues, etc., which, due to the increased flow resistance, improves the product quality. It produces a good mixture.

The product passages 35 can be integrally connected to one another by means of head plates 13, 14 provided on the end faces of the central part 12, so that a consistently extending product flow is obtained. To this end, an overflow passage 38 is formed in each head plate 13; 14, as shown in FIG. These overflow passages 38 connect the two product passages 35 arranged one above the other in the intermediate part 12 to one another. Further, the product inlet pipe 39 is arranged in the range of the lower surface 18 of the housing 11 in one head plate 13, and the product outlet pipe 41 is arranged in the range of the upper surface 17 of the housing 11 in the other head plate 14 located on the opposite side. Are arranged. The arrangement or configuration of the overflow passages 38 is such that the product passages 35 are located within the central portion 12 along the meandering flow passage of the product, i.e. along the longest possible passage between the product inlet pipe 39 and the outlet pipe 41. It is set to guide you through.

In the embodiment of the heat exchanger 10a shown in FIG. 3, two overflow passages 3 are provided in the head plate 13a.
8a is formed. The two overflow passages 38a connect the four product passages 35, which are arranged one above the other, to each other. On the other hand, the other head plate 14
In a, an overflow passage 38b for the two product passages 35, an overflow passage 38c for the three product passages 35, and an overflow passage 38d for the four overflow passages 35 are formed. Such an arrangement of overflow passages 38a-38d results in a shorter product flow path as compared to the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the embodiment of the heat exchanger 10b shown in FIG. 4, the overflow passages 38e provided in the head plates 13b, 14b are arranged so that all the product passages 35 are connected to each other in the head plates 13b, 14b. Is formed in. This provides a further shortening of the product flow path as compared to the second embodiment of FIG.

Further, overflow passages 38, 38a,
It is also possible to form the product flow path formed in another form by changing the arrangement configuration of 38b, 38c, 38d, and 38e. This product flow path also has another flow length for the product.

In order to be able to simply empty the product passages 35 simply by gravity, each heat exchanger 1
Outside the housing 11 of 0, 10a, 10b, the inlet pipe 3
A discharge valve 42 is arranged at 9. This exhaust valve 42 is shown only in FIGS. 1 and 2 for the sake of clarity of the drawing, but of course it is also provided in another embodiment. In this case, it is important that the exhaust valve 42 is arranged at the level of the lowest product passage 35, or even further below it.

Equal intervals a are formed between the individual product passages 35. In the intermediate chamber 43 between the individual product channels 35 there are arranged a number of guide channels (not shown) of rectangular cross section for the heating medium. The length of this guide passage corresponds to at least the width b of the product passage 35. The guide channels are arranged in such a way that the heating medium is guided at right angles to the product channels 35, that is to say the heat exchanger operates in the cross-flow or cross-flow method.

Furthermore, in order to make the drawings easier to see, the partial chamber 2
Only three product passages 35 are shown in each of 1, 22, 23, but in the actual configuration, for example, ten product passages 35 are provided in each partial chamber 21; 22; 2 depending on the use case.
It is located at 3. The positions of the intermediate walls 19 and 20 and the sizes of the partial chambers 21, 22 and 23 are the same as those of the partial chambers 21;
22; 23 are preferably arranged such that there are an equal number of product channels 35. The height h of the product passage 35 is different for each of the partial chambers 21; 22; 23, but the interval a between the product passages 35 is always the same, so the partial chambers 21 of different sizes are formed. , 22, 23 are obtained.

The heat exchangers 10, 10a, 10b operate as follows: a pump (not shown) placed in front of the inlet pipe 39 allows the product to pass through the inlet pipe 39, the head plates 13, 13a, It is pumped to 13b. The product is heated and increased in pressure in the product passage 35 by the discharge pressure of the pump and flows through the heat exchangers 10, 10a, 10b,
In this case, the head plates 13, 13a, 13b, 1 having variously formed lengths of the flow path according to the above-mentioned configuration.
4, 14a, 14b can influence. That is, the flow path is formed longest in the heat exchanger 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and shortest in the heat exchanger 10b shown in FIG. As a result, at the same temperature of the heating medium in the corresponding partial chambers 21, 22, 23, the temperature rise of the product is the highest in the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the third embodiment shown in FIG. Is the smallest in. Each sub-chamber 21; 22; 2
Since 3 is a separately controllable component of the heating circuit, for example, the lowest temperature is set in the lower partial chamber 23 and the maximum temperature is set in the upper partial chamber 21 to heat the product particularly gently. It is possible to This is particularly advantageous when using heat-sensitive additives, such as milk. In this case, of course, for example, 2 out of 3 heating circuits
It is also possible to combine two heating circuits into one heating circuit which has the same temperature as the heat carrier medium. Furthermore, the outlet pipe 4
It is advantageous that the height h3 of the product passage 35 provided in the partial chamber 21 corresponding to 1 is larger than the height h1 of the product passage 35 provided in the partial chamber 23 corresponding to the inlet pipe 38. I knew it was. Since the volume of the product increases as the temperature increases and when it transitions to the two phase regions (steam and concentrate), the flow velocity of the product when the product passage 35 is formed at a certain height h over the entire flow path. It causes an increase. As a result, the residence time of the product in the subchamber 21, for example, and thus the possible temperature rise of the product, is considerably less than in the subchamber 23, which has the product with the smallest volume, for example. This effect is due to the product passage 35 in the individual subchambers 21, 22, 23.
This can be compensated for by appropriately setting the height h.
Thus, for example, despite the relatively low temperature of the heating medium in the subchamber 21, a temperature rise of the product can still be obtained. The height h3 is small,
Consequently, when the residence time of the product is short, a higher temperature of the heating medium is required to obtain such a temperature rise.

The heat exchanger can be cleaned particularly easily after the removal of the head plate and, optionally, the removal of the mixing element provided in the product channel. This is because the product passage is formed linearly and without an undercut portion. On the basis of the structure of the product passage, the recombining time of two different products or the restarting time after the production stop, for example, becomes relatively short.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the heat exchanger shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a heat exchanger according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a heat exchanger according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10a, 10b heat exchanger, 11 housing, 12 central part, 13, 13a, 13b, 14,
14a, 14b head plate, 16 inner chamber, 1
7 Upper surface, 18 Lower surface, 19, 20 Intermediate wall, 2
1, 22, 23 partial chambers, 24 side walls, 26, 27,
28 inlets, 29 sidewalls, 31, 32, 33 outlets, 35 product passages, 37 mixing elements, 3
8, 38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, 38e overflow passage, 39 product inlet pipe, 41 product outlet pipe, 42 outflow valve, 43 intermediate chamber, a distance,
b Product passage width, B Housing width, h Product passage height

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger (10, 10a, 10b) of plate structure type for heating or boiling a product, wherein an end face of a housing (11) has one head plate (13, 13a, 10b). 13b, 14, 14a, 14
b) closed tightly and at least one inlet (26, 27, 28) and outlet (3) for the heat carrier medium
1, 32, 33) and a housing (11)
A plurality of flow-through elements (35) of rectangular cross section, arranged parallel to one another, are provided for the product in the inner chamber (16) of the housing, the flow-through elements (35) of the housing (11). In the type of being flush with the end face, the inner chamber (16) of the housing (11) is divided into a plurality of partial chambers (21, 22, 23) by at least one separating element (19, 20). The length of the flow path for the products in the heat exchanger, which is made possible, is determined by the head plates (13, 13a, 13b, 14, 14a, 14).
The head plates (13, 13a, 13b, 14, 14a, 14) can be variably formed according to the configuration of (b).
b) is designed to be exchangeable and the heat exchanger (10, 1)
0a, 10b) the flow element (35) corresponding to the product inlet (39) to the heat exchanger (10, 10a, 10b).
A heat exchanger characterized in that it has a smaller height (h) and a cross-sectional area than the flow-through element (35) corresponding to the outlet (41) of the product from b). 2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein each subchamber (21; 22; 23) is connected to a separately controllable heat circuit for the heat carrier medium. 3. The spacing (a) between a plurality of flow-through elements (35) arranged one above the other in a housing (11) is
The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2, which has always the same size. 4. Flow-through element (35) for a product
The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein is formed linearly and without an undercut portion. 5. A discharge element (42) for the product in the flow-through element (35) having the lowest level with respect to the flow path of the product in the heat exchanger (10, 10a, 10b).
The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which corresponds to. 6. The head plate (13, 13a, 1)
3b, 14, 14a, 14b) are overflow passages (42a, 42b, 42c, 42d, 42) for the product.
e), the overflow passages connecting the flow elements (35) arranged above and below each other,
The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein in each subchamber (21; 22; 23) the same number of flow elements (35) are arranged. 8. The flow element (35) has the same height (h1, h1) for each of the sub-chambers (21; 22; 23).
8. The heat exchanger according to claim 7, which has a cross-sectional area of h2, h3) or the same. 9. The mixing element (37) for the product is arranged in at least one flow element (35) of the flow elements (35).
The heat exchanger according to any one of 1 to 8.