Free Rheology Testing for Sanitary Plate Heat Exchangers

No two food products are the same — so why should your sanitary plate heat exchanger be the same as anyone else’s? 

At AGC Heat Transfer, we believe in customizing equipment to be efficient, effective, and suited specifically to your plant and product’s needs. 

How do we do it? It’s all about where we start— with rheology testing.

Take advantage of complimentary rheology testing

We offer rheology testing at no cost to all our customers, no matter the size of your operation. In fact, we recommend that anyone send us a product sample if you’re looking to:

• Better understand your product
• Optimize your plate heat exchanger
• Modify your recipe
• Introduce a new recipe or product altogether

With the help of our rheology experts, we can help make sure that your plate heat exchanger is set up to handle your next step.

How long does rheology testing take?

Here’s a quick breakdown of how the process works.

Why should I test my product?

Whether you’re looking to buy a new plate heat exchanger, or fit existing equipment to accommodate a new or evolved product, any changes to what you’re running through your plate heat exchanger will impact the efficiency of the equipment. And when your heat exchanger isn’t customized for your unique product, it's difficult to maintain quality and production volumes.  

Harnessing the power law model

Let’s get technical for a moment.

AGC utilizes the power law model to measure how a fluid’s viscosity changes as its flow speed changes. For example, when you tip a ketchup bottle upside down, the ketchup often won’t move. But when you hit the bottom of the upside-down bottle with your hand, the ketchup will move freely. 

This is because as shear rate increases, viscosity decreases. In the case of ketchup, when you strike one end of the bottle, the fibers from the tomato inside align, changing the overall viscosity of the product.

Even if your product is the first of its kind, we have information to help inform how the product will behave once it’s running through your plate heat exchanger

Not all heat exchanger manufacturers consider the relationship between shear rate and viscosity when designing equipment for a plant. As a result, some plants might end up with a plate heat exchanger that won’t efficiently process the product. 

Rheology also helps us understand what size plate heat exchanger you need. A heat exchanger that’s too large might result in channeling, allowing the product to remain stagnant during its journey through the plates, versus distributing across the plates as intended. Wrong-sized equipment also leads to challenges when it comes time to run your CIP process, product quality control, and keep up with production goals.

Why AGC for custom heat exchangers?

We offer free rheology testing because we care about your heat exchanger’s performance.

The last thing you want is a vat of product that you can’t process because your plate heat exchanger isn’t designed to handle it. Many plate heat exchanger manufacturers don’t hold the same deep stake in the food industry as AGC — and as a result, we have seen how much compatible equipment can improve plant processes and product quality.

Because of our focus on the food and beverage industry, we have an extensive database of samples that we have tested in the past. (In fact, our database is one of the most extensive databases of its kind in the world.) 

Even if your product is the first of its kind, we have information to help inform how the product will behave once it's running through your plate heat exchanger. In many ways, this historical knowledge helps us define the most efficient equipment for your product’s specific characteristics.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s see what your heat exchanger can do for you!