A plate heat exchanger, a PHE, typically comprises a frame including two frame plates in between which a plurality of heat transfer plates are arranged in a stack or pack, with every second one of the heat transfer plates rotated or flipped 180 degrees in relation to the rest of the heat transfer plates. A typical frame plate is plane, considerably thicker than a heat transfer plate, and may comprise one or more portholes which each forms an inlet or an outlet of the plate heat exchanger. A typical heat transfer plate is corrugated so as to comprise ridges extending in an upper plane, and valleys extending in a tower plane, and it may comprise one or more portholes.In one type of well-known PHEs, the so called gasketed PHEs, gaskets are arranged between the heat transfer plates in gasket grooves pressed in the heat transfer plates, which gasket grooves extend along outer edges and around the portholes of the heat transfer plates. The gasket grooves may extend in the tower plane and/or in an intermediate plane arranged between the upper and tower planes. The frame plates are pressed towards each other by some kind of tightening means whereby the gaskets seal between the heat transfer plates. The gaskets define parallel flow passages between the heat transfer plates, one passage between each two adjacent heat transfer plates. Two fluids of initially different temperatures may flow alternately through every second passage for transferring heat from one fluid to the other.
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