Aspen Plate Exchanger

      Drive capital and operational efficiency through optimized design of plate and frame heat exchangers

      Aspen Plate Exchanger is the latest generation of thermal design software for detailed simulation and optimized design of plate and frame heat exchangers. Companies deploying Aspen Plate Exchanger realize significant benefits, such as 10-30% equipment cost savings, reduced energy costs, and increased engineering efficiency.

The Challenge

      Heat transfer equipment accounts for up to 30% of process capital costs and 90% of operating costs. Designing or rating heat exchangers effectively is a complicated task.Multiple engineering groups with different requirements are typically involved in
each aspect of the design process, using standalone tools with a minimum of integration.Manual transfer of information results
in costly errors, delays, and inconsistencies. An integrated solution that meets the needs of all functional groups is required to
provide a truly optimized design that drives capital and operational efficiency.

The AspenTech Solution

      Aspen Plate Exchanger enables optimum design, rating and simulation of plate and frame heat exchangers for both the expert
and casual user. Integration with process simulators and synthesis tools allows for improved reliability by aligning people and
information across technological boundaries.

      High level run-time integration with Aspen Plus enables engineers to rigorously model heat exchanger operation and identify capital saving opportunities. Bottlenecks are easily identified, process improvements modeled for various process operating scenarios, and costly maintenance schedules optimized. Based on the familiar Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating user
interface, Aspen Plate Exchanger provides users with a common environment for easy comparison of plate heat exchangers with shell and tube units.

    

      Integration with Aspen Plus eliminates the need for manual transfer of data that is often the cause of errors and costly delays

Key Technical Features:

• SI, metric, US, and user customizable systems of measure
• ProgramModes:
• – Design – optimizes the selection based on area
  – Checking/Rating – assesses adequate surface area and allowable pressure drops
  – Simulation – calculates heat load, outlet temperatures, and pressure drops for a given heat exchanger
  – Design for a given plate – calculates the number of plates required for a specified heat duty
• Maximumof 5 passes for either hot or cold streams
• Co- or counter-current flow
• Evaluates flow maldistribution
• Non-Newtonian fluids
• Proper handling of fluids with two liquid phases
• Double banking
• User supplied Colburn j and friction factors (to model special proprietary plate types)
• Database of commercially available plates from 3 leading suppliers

Wide Range of Applications

       Conceptual heat exchanger design is a key function of the process engineer at the early stages of a project, requiring
added detail as the project evolves. Thermal experts must optimize the sizing of new equipment, rate existing
equipment to ensure sufficient area, and select the best exchanger type for a given application. Heat exchanger
fabricators must thermally guarantee their heat exchangers, providing the most economical heat exchangers for a given
set of process conditions.

       Aspen Plate Exchanger addresses these wide range of application needs. It serves both the engineering contractor and the
equipment fabricator, allowing sharing of models from conceptual design to operational troubleshooting. Aspen Plate Exchanger facilitates the full range of practical process applications, including single-phase, condensing, and vaporization.When used in design mode, Aspen Plate Exchanger can determine the optimum heat exchanger configuration that satisfies the specified heat duty, allowable pressure drop, and/or maximum velocity, as well as rate heat exchangers for required process duties.

       Three major databases are included—Aspen Properties, an industry standard in the chemical sector; Aspen HYSYS?
Thermodynamics COMInterface, the leading package in oil & gas processing; and Aspen B-JAC standard properties package. This combined collection contains over 15,000 component properties and more than 30 industry-standard VLE methods and mixing rules.

      Aspen Plate Exchanger models both single and two-phase streams, and supports gasketed plate and frame, brazed plate, and welded plate heat exchangers.Evaluate lifecycle business impact of design alternatives in the early phases of conceptual design

Output

      Aspen Plate Exchanger uses the power and flexibilty of the MicrosoftWindows environment to allow you to explore
exchanger geometry and performance detail. In addition, Aspen Plate Exchanger is designed to support “drag & drop”
interfacing withMicrosoft Excel, as well as high-level communication with other software.

Thermal output includes:

• Optimization path that identifies the design selection with smallest area, possible alternative designs, and controlling
  design constraints
• Extensive warning and error reporting, alerting you to
  potential operational problems
• Summary of exchanger performance
• Details for pressure drops and hold-ups
• Stream conditions at inlet and outlet of each pass
• Stream conditions along the exchanger
• Exchanger layout drawings
• Extensive graphing capabilities

      Aspen Plate Exchanger provides access to manufacturers’ databases of plates, allowing users to check rate the performance of existing plant equipment

Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating

      Aspen Plate Exchanger is a part of the Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating family of products. Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating products offer state-of-the-art heat exchanger simulation and design based on over 30 years of industry-lead research. Our aim is to enhance the value of heat transfer solutions by providing the most integrated product offering across the widest range of technologies. This enables our customers to use the most advanced physically-basedmodeling, from unit design and overall process design, through to optimization and operationalmonitoring.

aspenONE Process Engineering

      Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating family of products is a key component of aspenONE Process Engineering for chemical, refining, and E&P companies. aspenONE Process Engineering is an integrated lifecycle solution—from conceptual design through to plant startup and operations support—enabling our customers to build and operate safer, competitive and more reliable process plants. Companies are able to reduce capital and operating costs, increase engineering efficiency and quality, and accelerate time-to-market—with payback in months instead of years.

About AspenTech

      AspenTech is a leading provider of award-winning process optimization software and services. AspenTech’s integrated aspenONE? solutions enable manufacturers to reduce costs, increase capacity, and optimize operational performance end-to-end throughout the engineering, plant operations, and supply chain management processes.