Fully Welded Plate Heat Exchanger
Laser-welded plate cassettes eliminate elastomer limitations, enabling service with hydrocarbons, refrigerants and high-temperature process fluids.
Laser-welded plate cassettes eliminate elastomer limitations, enabling service with hydrocarbons, refrigerants and high-temperature process fluids.
- Hydrocarbon processing
- Refrigerants
- High-temperature duties
- · Plate / tube material
- · Design pressure & temperature
- · Connection type and size
- · Code and certification
Fully Welded Plate Heat Exchanger Overview
Short answer
A fully welded plate heat exchanger is a plate pack whose adjacent plates are laser- or TIG-welded along their seams, so the heat transfer core contains no elastomer gaskets at all. It is selected when the medium attacks gasket compounds — hydrocarbons, refrigerants, aromatic solvents, hot oil, steam — or when the design pressure and temperature sit above what a gasketed frame can be confirmed for, while plate-type compactness and a close approach are still wanted. The welded pack cannot be opened, so fouling is controlled chemically; duties needing mechanical cleaning are better served by a welded plate-and-block construction with removable side panels. Design conditions and materials are project-specific and confirmed at design review.
A Fully Welded Plate Heat Exchanger (FWPHE) uses a laser- or TIG-welded plate pack instead of the elastomer gaskets found in a conventional plate-and-frame unit. Adjacent plates are joined at their peripheral seams to form a gasket-free heat transfer core, so the exchanger can operate outside the temperature, pressure and chemical-compatibility envelope of a gasketed PHE while keeping the compact footprint, high U-value and close temperature approach of plate technology.
The welded plate cassettes are stacked into a frame or shell-and-plate pressure enclosure. Because there is no inter-plate gasket, the unit tolerates hydrocarbons, refrigerants, aromatic solvents, hot oil, steam and high-temperature process streams that would attack an elastomer. Typical duties include hydrocarbon interchangers, refrigerant condensers and evaporators, hot-oil coolers, steam heaters and heat recovery from high-temperature process gas or liquid streams.
Shanghai Jiangxing manufactures fully welded plate heat exchangers to customer-specified process conditions, materials and applicable design codes. Design pressure, design temperature, plate pattern, plate material, nozzle configuration and inspection scope are confirmed for each project based on the process data provided.
Operating Conditions
| Design pressure | Up to 40 bar typical, higher on request (project-specific) |
| Design temperature | Up to ~350 °C (material- and construction-dependent) |
| Heat transfer area | Custom, from small skid-mounted units up to large process duties |
| Plate joining | Laser or TIG welded plate cassettes; gasket-free heat transfer core |
| Enclosure | Frame with welded plate pack, or shell-and-plate pressure vessel |
| Typical duties | Hydrocarbons, refrigerants, hot oil, steam, aggressive process media, condensation and evaporation |
Materials of Construction
| Plate materials | AISI 304, 316L, 254 SMO, titanium Gr.1/Gr.2, SAF 2205 duplex, nickel alloys (Hastelloy C276, Alloy 825, Nickel 200) |
| Frame / shell | Carbon steel painted, stainless-clad, or fully wetted stainless / alloy |
| Connections | Flanged (ANSI, EN, JIS) or welded stubs — sized per line specification |
Choose this when / Do not choose this when
A quick suitability check before you commit to a construction.
Choose this construction when
- The medium has no suitable elastomer gasket compound — hydrocarbons, refrigerants, aromatic solvents, hot oil
- The confirmed design pressure or temperature is above what a gasketed plate frame can be selected for
- Plate-type compactness and a close temperature approach are still required at those conditions
- The duty involves condensation or evaporation and a compact welded core is preferred to a tubular unit
- Fouling is light to moderate and can be controlled by chemical cleaning in place
Do not choose this construction when
- The service fouls heavily or carries solids and needs periodic mechanical cleaning — specify a welded plate-and-block unit instead
- The plate pack must be openable on site for inspection, re-gasketing or capacity change
- The duty sits comfortably inside the gasketed envelope and serviceability matters more than the welded core
- Very high pressure, very high temperature or a code-stamped tubular vessel is specified — evaluate shell-and-tube
Selection Parameters
Information our engineering team uses to size and quote this unit.
- Hot- and cold-side medium (composition, contaminants, corrosivity)
- Flow rate on both sides (m³/h or kg/h) and allowable pressure drop
- Inlet and outlet temperatures (both sides), including any phase change
- Design pressure and design temperature (both sides)
- Required heat duty (kW) or LMTD target
- Fouling factor and cleaning strategy (CIP chemistry, thermal cycling, etc.)
- Applicable design code and inspection scope (ASME, PED/CE, GB, third-party inspection)
RFQ Data Checklist
Send the items below with your inquiry for the fastest accurate quotation.
- Process description and PFD / P&ID if available
- Stream compositions on both sides (including corrosive components)
- Flow, inlet/outlet temperatures, allowable pressure drop, design pressure and design temperature (both sides)
- Required duty (kW) and any phase-change details
- Preferred plate and frame materials
- Applicable design code, inspection and documentation requirements
- Site conditions, footprint constraints and nozzle orientation
Procurement and selection dimensions
The dimensions that decide the configuration, and what each one changes in the quotation.
Sets plate alloy and confirms that a gasket-free core is required
Sets plate thickness, welding detail and enclosure type (frame or shell-and-plate)
Sets plate pattern, channel count and heat transfer area
Confirms whether a welded pack is suitable or a plate-and-block unit is needed
Selects between 316L, 254 SMO, duplex, titanium and nickel alloys
Defines fabrication route, documentation and schedule
Fixes enclosure layout and connection configuration
Fully Welded Plate Heat Exchanger Industry Applications
Feed / effluent heat recovery in a refinery process where the medium and temperature exceed elastomer-gasket limits — welded core in 316L with flanged nozzles.
Refrigerant condenser and evaporator duties in industrial refrigeration where a gasket-free construction is required for compatibility and safety.
High-temperature closed-loop heat recovery from a thermal-oil circuit into a process stream, above the operating window of a gasketed PHE.
Compact welded plate condenser used to condense process steam against a cooling medium, replacing a larger shell-and-tube unit.
Fully Welded Plate vs Welded Plate-and-Block Heat Exchanger
Both constructions remove inter-plate elastomer gaskets from the heat transfer core. The practical difference is cleaning access: a fully welded pack is closed and cleaned chemically, while a welded plate-and-block unit opens on four sides for mechanical cleaning. Design conditions for either construction are project-specific and confirmed at design review.
| Fully Welded Plate | Welded Plate-and-Block | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat transfer core | Laser- or TIG-welded plate cassettes, gasket-free | Fully welded plate block, gasket-free core |
| Enclosure | Frame with welded pack, or shell-and-plate pressure vessel | Welded block with removable side panels |
| Cleaning method | Chemical cleaning in place; thermal cycling where suitable | Mechanical brushing and high-pressure water cleaning through the open panels |
| Inspection access | No direct access to the channels | Both circuits accessible when the side panels are removed |
| Best-fit fouling level | Clean to moderately fouling media | Fouling and solids-bearing services with a defined cleaning interval |
| Typical duties | Hydrocarbon interchangers, refrigerant condensers and evaporators, hot-oil and steam duties | Chemical process duties, heat recovery and high-fouling services |
| Design conditions | Project-specific; confirmed at design review | Project-specific; confirmed at design review |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sourcing, verification and next steps
Every unit is engineered to the confirmed duty, materials and inspection scope of the order. Design codes, test certificates and third-party inspection are quoted as options and confirmed per project rather than assumed. See our heat exchanger manufacturing and OEM capability, the quality control and inspection workflow, and the heat exchanger cost guide for what drives price. For a first-pass thermal check, use the heat exchanger sizing calculator, then send your process data for a quotation.
Need a Heat Exchanger for Your Project?
Send your working conditions, drawing or datasheet. Blair will review your request and help confirm the next step.