Gasket Quality Control

Abstract: The heat exchanger is a system where heat gets transferred between oil and other forms of lubricants from one system to another without mixing through conduction. The hot liquid is cooled by passing through the heat exchangers plates, which act as a wall between them. When hot liquid is passed between the plates, the following plates are passed with cold liquid, which carries the heat away from the system where cold liquid becomes hot and vice versa. Plates are connected close to each other, where the gasket acts as a seal separating the different liquids from mixing. The heat exchanger plates are sealed with frame from both the side tightened with bolts as per requirement. So, the gasket plays a critical role in differentiating between the two fluids. The design and manufacturing of the gasket thus become a crucial part that must be produced so that there is no variation from the actual 2D drawing and 3D model. The main aim of the thesis is to investigate different techniques in determining the cross-section parameters of the gasket in a non-destructive manner. The current metrological methods at Alfa Laval have no emphasis on cross-section measurement. In few cases, there has been investigation performed by destructive methods. We have used Laser line Triangulation (LLT), Handheld 3D scanning for determining the cross-section parameters. We will be comparing LLT method and Handheld 3D scanners. The data obtained by this process have been validated by using a Light optical microscope (LOM). A deep investigation of these technologies performs a comparative study of different technologies. The Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process is used to choose the best method for data extraction, ease of use, training, cost. We have used Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to model the decision-making process.