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Installation

Overview

The Plate Heat Exchanger (PHE) is distributed as an external unit operation plugin for DWSIM. Installation consists of placing the DLL file in the correct folder and verifying that DWSIM loads it on startup. This page covers requirements, step-by-step installation, stream connections, and a quick-start example.

Requirements

Requirement Minimum Version
DWSIM 8.x or later
Runtime .NET 8
License Valid AI4Tech license key

License Activation

The PHE unit operation requires a valid license managed through the AI4Tech licensing system. Ensure your license is activated before attempting to use the unit operation.

Installation Steps

The default DWSIM external unit operations folder is:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\DWSIM\unitops\

Which typically resolves to:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\DWSIM\unitops\

Steps:

  1. Download the DWSIM.UnitOperations.PlateHeatExchanger.dll file from the distribution package.
  2. Copy the DLL into the unitops folder: 
    C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\DWSIM\unitops\DWSIM.UnitOperations.PlateHeatExchanger.dll
  3. Restart DWSIM if it is currently running.
  4. The PHE unit operation will appear in the flowsheet object palette under External Unit Operations.

If you have configured DWSIM to load external unit operations from a custom folder:

  1. Open DWSIM and navigate to Settings > General > External Unit Operations Folder.
  2. Note the configured path.
  3. Copy DWSIM.UnitOperations.PlateHeatExchanger.dll into that folder.
  4. Restart DWSIM.
  5. Verify the PHE appears in the flowsheet object palette under External Unit Operations.

Verification

After installation, confirm that DWSIM has loaded the plugin correctly:

  1. Open DWSIM and create a new flowsheet (or open an existing one).
  2. In the object palette, look for External Unit Operations.
  3. The Plate Heat Exchanger should be listed as an available unit operation.
  4. Drag it onto the flowsheet canvas to confirm it instantiates without errors.

Installation Complete

If the Plate Heat Exchanger appears in the palette and can be placed on the flowsheet, the installation is successful.

Troubleshooting

If the PHE does not appear, verify that:

  • The DLL is in the correct unitops folder.
  • You are running DWSIM 8.x or later with .NET 8.
  • Your AI4Tech license is active and valid.
  • DWSIM was fully restarted after placing the DLL.

Connecting Streams

The PHE unit operation has two ports for material stream connections:

Port Side Connection
Port 1 Hot side Connect the hot-side inlet material stream
Port 2 Cold side Connect the cold-side inlet material stream

Each port accepts one inlet material stream. The unit operation calculates the outlet conditions for both sides internally.

Minimum Plate Count

The PHE requires a minimum of 3 plates to perform a valid calculation. Setting NumberOfPlates below 3 will result in a calculation error. Ensure the plate count is set to 3 or higher before running the simulation.

To connect streams:

  1. Create two material streams on the flowsheet — one for the hot fluid and one for the cold fluid.
  2. Define the inlet conditions (temperature, pressure, flow rate, composition) for each stream.
  3. Connect the hot-side stream to Port 1 of the PHE.
  4. Connect the cold-side stream to Port 2 of the PHE.
  5. Create two outlet material streams and connect them to the PHE outlet ports.

Quick Start Example

Follow these steps to run your first PHE calculation:

  1. Create a new flowsheet in DWSIM and add a thermodynamic package (e.g., Steam Tables for water-water cases).

  2. Add two inlet material streams:

    Property Hot Stream Cold Stream
    Temperature 80 °C 25 °C
    Pressure 300 kPa 300 kPa
    Mass Flow 1 kg/s 1 kg/s
    Compound Water Water

  3. Place the PHE on the flowsheet from External Unit Operations.

  4. Connect the streams: Hot stream to Port 1, Cold stream to Port 2. Add two outlet streams.

  5. Configure the PHE with default parameters (or adjust as needed):

    Parameter Default Value
    Number of Plates 50
    Plate Width 500 mm
    Plate Height 1000 mm
    Chevron Angle 60°
    Flow Direction Counterflow

  6. Run the simulation. The PHE will calculate outlet temperatures, heat duty, pressure drops, and all thermal-hydraulic results.

  7. Review results in the PHE editor panel, including the T-Q diagram.

Next Steps

For detailed information on all configuration parameters, see Parameters Reference. For a complete explanation of the design calculation algorithm, see Design Mode.