A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF THERMAL INSULATION IN PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS

Abstract

The present study analyzed the importance of thermal insulation in plate heat exchangers, in order to increase the efficiency of these equipments. The experimental work was carried out in laboratory at Universidade Santa Cecília. The study analyzed experimentally the performance of different types of insulations by comparison of the results of heat transfer in equipment insulated and uninsulated, within the same operating conditions. A 5% level of significance variance analysis (Anova) was carried out to compare the averages. The analysis was performed by quantifying the heat received by the cold fluid (water), heat lost to the environment, methods of thermal performance of the heat exchangers. The responses showed that ceramic wool was the best performance for thermal efficiency of the equipment with the outlet temperatures averages of 43.7°C (316.85 K), 24,17 W of heat lost to the environment and thermal effectiveness (ε) of 1.24%, under the conditions proposed. Index Terms - Energy conservation, energy efficiency, insulated plate heat exchangers.