Alfa Laval AlfaNova
Alfa Laval’s AlfaNova is manufactured with the AlfaFusion technology, making it a heat exchanger consisting of corrugated stainless steel plates bonded together without any copper or nickel. The unique design integration means that the AlfaNova is able to withstand more extreme temperatures and pressures with greater fatigue resistance than conventional brazed plate heat exchangers. In addition, the AlfaNova is also highly suitable for duties with high hygiene demands.
AlfaNova’s unique fusion-bonded manufacturing process provides greater reinforcement for the plate pack, which in turn ensures a higher degree of pressure resistance than that offered by comparable technologies. Additionally, the 100% stainless steel construction allows it to withstand temperatures as high as 550°C (1020°F). As a result, the AlfaNova is highly dependable in applications with extreme pressure and/or temperature demands. Use of the same material of construction for all key components also provides high thermal efficiency, in addition to giving the unit mechanical strength equivalent to any fully welded counterpart.
Benefits
- Compact
- Easy to install
- Self-cleaning
- Low level of service and maintenance is required
- All units are pressure and leak tested.
- Gasket free
- Copper free
Features
Alfa Laval’s experience of over 80 years in heat transfer innovations makes them the best at understanding what it takes to deliver high-performance solutions for any applications. Some of the features highlighted at;
- PressureSecure – the innovative plate designs support the widest range of high-temperature and high-pressure applications. Units can run using thinner plates and fewer plates, which translates to less raw material, low energy consumption, reduced refrigerant charge and a longer equipment lifecycle.
- FlexFlow™ – AlfaLaval’s patented asymmetrical plate design is one of the many unique innovations that showcases improved thermal efficiency due to the optimized pressure drop and increased turbulence. With this technology, the AlfaNova is able to cut energy consumption, reduce refrigerant volumes and raw materials.
- AlfaNova® – it is 100% stainless steel, AlfaNova is a solution that Alfa Laval offers for applications that use media not compatible with traditional heat exchanger materials. Not only is this advanced design optimized for use with natural refrigerants, it is also completely recyclable.
Application
Suitable for a wide range of application, such as;
- HVAC heating and cooling
- Refrigeration
- Oil cooling
- Industrial heating and cooling
- Process heating and cooling
Design
The AlfaFusion filler material seals and holds the plates together at the contact points ensuring optimal heat transfer efficiency and pressure resistance. Using advanced design technologies and extensive verification guarantees the highest performance and longest possible service life.
The brazed design holds the plate pack together internally with contact points, doing away with any need for external plate frames at design pressures of up to 70 bar/1015 psi. Distributing the load across many separate contact points provides excellent resistance to pressure fatigue. The materials of construction are made of the same material, making it thermally efficient as well as being shock-proof and having a mechanical strength fully equivalent to any welded counterpart.
Based on standard components and a modular concept, each unit is custom-built to meet the specific requirements of each individual installation.
Two media at different temperatures flow on either side of thin corrugated stainless steel plates that are stacked on top of each other. The two media flow in a countercurrent flow through alternate channels and are held within the plate pack by a fusion-bonded sea around the edge of the plates. The points at which the plates are in contact with each other are also bonded with the same technology, reinforcing the pack against the pressure of the media inside.
The countercurrent flow makes it possible to extract heat efficiently even when there are only extremely small differences between the temperatures of the hot and cold media. This results in notable energy cost savings.
