Bruce Nelson, President of Colmac Coil, has been awarded a new patent for his plate freezer innovations. Traditional direct contact plate freezer designs have had common reoccurring deficiencies which result in potential health hazards. Often, to counteract the non-uniform distribution of liquid refrigerant in traditional plate freezers, increased levels of refrigerant are used. This creates a health hazard if the refrigerant is leaked. The most common instance of refrigerant leakage occurs at the connection of the refrigerant conduit to the common intake and suction manifolds. Because the threaded connections are stainless steel and the plates of the freezer are aluminum, there is a difference in the linear coefficient of thermal expansion, resulting in leaks over repeated freezing cycles.
Nelson’s innovative design resolves each of the previously mentioned deficiencies and helps ensure a safe environment for workers near the freezers. By using a wicking structure and internal passageways the uniformity of the refrigerant flow can be greatly increased, thus reducing health hazards should a leak occur. A bimetallic coupling used at the connection of the conduit to the freezing plates eliminates the risk of refrigerant leaks over multiple freezing cycles.
To read the entire patent, click here.
About Colmac Coil Manufacturing, Inc.
Since 1971 Colmac Coil has provided customers worldwide with innovative heat exchangers and heat transfer solutions for industrial refrigeration, HVAC, power generation, and gas compression applications. The company builds heating and cooling coils, refrigeration air coolers and blast freezers, air-cooled fluid coolers and condensers, and heat pipes for heat recovery. State-of-the-art selection software accurately calculates heat exchanger performance for a wide range of working fluids, materials, and operating conditions. World-class manufacturing facilities in both Washington State and in Illinois provide customers with fast delivery times and outstanding after sales support. www.colmaccoil.com
