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The heart of any marine vessel is its engine room and the cooling system of that engine is the life force maintaining its optimum operating temperature. For decades, shell-and-tube heat exchangers reigned supreme as the ubiquitous marine engine cooling solution. Today however, advances in the capabilities of modern Plate Heat Exchangers (PHEs) have changed the way that ship owners and engineers think about thermal management. Compact, efficient and versatile PHEs provide numerous operational and economic advantages that are critical for fuel economy, operational costs and equipment lifespan. Based in SME Group with 20+ years in marine engineering expertise and a full offering, from ICCP and MGPS, through to SED and PHE solutions, explains why PHEs are now the preferred choice for many engine cooling systems.
1. Superior Thermal Efficiency and Fuel Economy
The single most persuasive argument in favor of PHEs is their superlative heat transfer ability. Turbulence occurs even at low velocities because of the corrugated plate design, resulting in a dramatically increased heat transfer coefficient, 3-5 times higher than equivalent shell-and-tube exchangers. As a result, less plate surface area and less seawater flow rate is needed to achieve the required cooling duty.
For cooling of both main engine jacket water and charge air cooling, this efficiency benefits you in the form of fuel savings. The reduced cooling water flow decreases the amount of seawater pump capacity required, a significant factor in the vessel's auxiliary load. Also, the tighter temperature approaches (2-3°C above cooling water inlet temperatures), ensure that engine temperatures are always well-maintained. The stable thermal conditions, limit thermal stresses on the engine liner, piston, and cylinder head, thereby increasing intervals between major overhauls. SME's innovative PHE design offers optimal chevron angles and flow patterns for effective heat recovery, thus ensuring maximum efficiency.
2. Space-Saving Compact Design and Installation Flexibility
Space in an engine room is at a premium today. PHEs deliver substantial space savings over traditional shell-and-tube exchanger designs-up to 50 to 70% reduction in floor space over the same thermal duty. This can be utilized for other engine room equipment or can lead to simpler piping and a lighter total weight.
Modular design Another significant advantage of PHEs is their modular construction. Additional or removed plates can expand or decrease the plate pack size, ensuring your PHEs will keep up with changing conditions if your engine is eventually uprated or if cooling loads change. This makes them ideal for retrofit installations where available space and pre-existing pipework can significantly limit your choices in designing the ideal cooling solution. SME's experienced engineering team works hand-in-hand with shipyards and technical superintendents to select the optimum frame size, connector orientation, and mounting position to seamlessly incorporate your PHEs into both new build and existing ships. Operating out of a fully equipped 5,000 m2 workshop in Nantong City, we build and assemble your PHE to precise dimensions and performance specifications, making sure they slide straight in.
3. Simplified Maintenance and Reduced Downtime
Ease of maintenance is one of the big advantages for PHEs in the marine sector. Where shell and tube exchangers need cranes and dismantling for tube bundles, a PHE unit can be opened for cleaning or inspection in a few hours with simple tools. Plates can be separated by sliding on guide bars and heat transfer surface checked easily, as individual plates can be replaced instead of scrapping the entire unit.
SME’s marine plate heat exchangers utilize easy clip-on and snap-in style gaskets, requiring no gluing or welding for assembly. This dramatically cuts down the time required to replace gasket elements. Maintenance documents and on-site shipboard training courses for ship’s engineers are available to enable the crew to maintain their vessels themselves by routine cleaning and inspections. A network of international service engineers and ISO certified quality system ensures a constant supply of genuine SME replacement plates and gaskets are kept at most shipyards around the globe, particularly across China and throughout the mainland.
4. Integration with Digital Monitoring and Corrosion Protection Systems
With today’s standards on marine engineering everything has to be part of a digital ecosystem, not even a PHE. SME includes on our plate heat exchangers factory fitted tapping points for sensors for temperature and pressure, and flow transmitters, to allow full integration in the vessels’ automation and alarm systems. Our PHE instruments provide continuous real time readings of thermal performance, permitting engineers to measure fouling factors and issue cleaning reminders early.
Combined digitalization complements SME’s existing range of protection systems to protect your assets. Our MGPS systems protect the PHE from biological fouling, such as the settlement of barnacles and mussels in their seawater inlet pipework. Coupled by our ICCP systems that protect all pipework and hull structure from galvanic corrosion and SEDs (Shaft Earthing Devices), that prevent current leakage damaging the PHE integrity. Combining the protection solutions with the PHE performance data, allows technical superintendents to trend their PHE performance against sister vessels on the fleet’s dashboard to optimise cleaning programmes and ensure informed decisions on the maintenance or replacement of the asset. With a legacy in more than 500 retrofit and maintenance projects a year, delivered by a skilled and qualified team of over 100 technicians and engineers, SME Group is a preferred supplier for efficient and reliable PHE technology, focused on going beyond your requirements.