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Quotes - Engineering - SalesQuench & Hydraulic Oil Cooling
Keeping Oil Temperature Under Control
Hydraulic oil, quench oil, lube oil and gear oil all need cooling, and all of them share the same difficulty: high viscosity gives a poor film coefficient, and viscosity rises further as the oil cools through the exchanger.
Turbulence at low velocity. The plate corrugation pattern induces turbulence at velocities where a tube would still be laminar. That is precisely the advantage on viscous fluids, and it is why plate exchangers are far smaller than tubular alternatives on oil duty.
Size against the cold end. Oil leaving the exchanger is at its most viscous and the temperature difference is at its smallest. The last few degrees cost disproportionate surface, and relaxing the outlet target slightly often shrinks the unit noticeably.
Quench duty is cyclic. A quench tank load arrives in bursts as parts are dropped, not steadily. Sizing on average load produces a system that runs hot during the shift and cool overnight.
Common FAQs
Because the corrugation pattern creates turbulence at low velocity, where a tube would still be laminar. That gives a far better film coefficient on viscous fluids and a much smaller exchanger for the same duty.
More than you would on water, and it must be stated at the enquiry. Oil pressure drop rises quickly, and a unit selected on thermal duty alone can be impossible to pump through at the flow the system delivers.
By sizing on the peak burst rather than the average, or by adding tank volume so the peak is absorbed. Sizing on average load gives a system that runs hot exactly when parts are being quenched.
Not usually. Oil duty needs a different plate pattern and pressure drop budget from water duty, and gasket compound must suit the oil. Separate units almost always work out better.
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