Design Tab

The Design tab is where thermal calculations are performed. You enter process conditions and the software finds the optimal plate heat exchanger configuration.

Accessing the Design Tab

The Design tab requires a CRM context — a customer and project must be selected first. There are three ways to access it:

1. Click "+ New Item" from the CRM Dashboard quick actions
2. Click "+ New Item" from a project detail view
3. Click an existing item in CRM to load its saved parameters

Design Modes

Mode	Description	When to Use
Standard	Liquid-to-liquid heat exchange. Evaluates all channel types and pass configurations.	Most applications (HVAC, process cooling/heating, district energy)
AHRI	Counter-flow only, AHRI-certified calculation per AHRI 400 standard.	Applications requiring AHRI certification
Steam	Steam condensation on hot side. Includes desuperheating and subcooling zones.	Steam-to-liquid heating applications

Design Parameters

Parameter	Description	Typical Range
Capacity (kW)	Heat duty. Enter a value or leave blank to auto-calculate from flow rates and temperatures.	1 – 50,000 kW
Flow Rate	Mass flow rate for hot and cold sides. At least one side must have a flow rate.	0.01 – 500 kg/s
Inlet Temperature	Entering temperature for each side.	-20 to 200 °C
Outlet Temperature	Leaving temperature for each side. Can be auto-calculated from duty.	Must create valid dT
Allowable dP	Maximum pressure drop allowed on each side. Results exceeding this limit are excluded.	0.1 – 5.0 bar
Fouling Factor	Thermal resistance due to deposit buildup (m²K/W). Higher values = larger unit.	0.0 – 0.001 m²K/W
Fluid	Select from the fluid database. Water uses built-in polynomial correlations.	Water, Glycol solutions, custom fluids
Concentration %	For glycol solutions. Affects fluid properties significantly.	0 – 60%
Over Surface %	Minimum design margin. The engine only returns solutions with this safety factor.	0 – 50% (default 0%)

Material Selection

Parameter	Options
Plate Material	AISI316L (standard), AISI304, SMO254, Titanium, Hastelloy, Nickel
Gasket Material	EPDM HT (standard), NBR HT, FKM (Viton), PTFE, Butyl
Design Pressure	6, 10, 16, 25 bar (affects plate thickness and frame design)

Unit System

Switch between unit systems using the selector at the top of the design panel:

Unit System	Flow	Temperature	Pressure	Duty
SI	kg/s	°C	bar	kW
Metric	m³/hr	°C	bar	kcal/hr
US	GPM	°F	psi	BTU/hr

Plate Type Filter

Filter which plate models are included in the auto-selection:

• All — Evaluate all 27 models
• Industrial — Standard industrial models only
• AWG (Welded) — All-welded gasket-free models for aggressive media
• Specific model — Select a single model to evaluate only that plate

Rating / Check Mode

Toggle Rating Mode to check a specific existing configuration instead of running auto-selection. In rating mode:

1. Select the specific plate model
2. Enter the plate count
3. Select channel type and passes
4. The engine calculates performance for that exact configuration

Saving a Design

After selecting a result, click Save in the item context bar at the top. This saves all input parameters and the selected result to the CRM, so it can be recalled later or included in an offer.

Results & Selection

After clicking Run Auto-Selection (or pressing Ctrl+Enter), the engine evaluates all eligible plate models and displays a ranked results table.

How Auto-Selection Works

For each of the 27 plate models, the engine:

1. Tries every channel type (H, L, M, and mixed combinations HM, ML, HL)
2. Tries pass configurations from 1 to 6 passes (up to 10 for AWG)
3. Uses binary search to find the minimum plate count that meets the duty with the required over-surface margin
4. Checks pressure drop constraints — excludes results exceeding the allowable dP
5. Checks port velocity and maldistribution
6. Calculates pricing based on the price list and customer discounts/markups

Results are ranked by price (lowest first). Typical runs evaluate 200-500 configurations in under 2 seconds.

Results Table Columns

Column	Meaning
Price	Unit price. Toggle between List / Net / Sales price using the dropdown above the table.
Model	Plate model name (e.g., A3M, A6L, A12LP, AWG12)
Channel	H (High theta = more turbulent), L (Low theta = less dP), M (Medium), or mixed (HM, ML, HL)
Plates	Total number of plates in the heat exchanger
Pass	Pass configuration (e.g., 1x1, 2x2, 3x3)
Over Surf. %	Excess surface area above minimum required. 10% means 10% more area than needed — a safety margin.
U-Service	Overall heat transfer coefficient in fouled (service) conditions (W/m²K)
HS dP / CS dP	Hot side and cold side total pressure drop (bar). Includes channel + port losses.
Port V	Port velocity (m/s). High values (>6 m/s) may cause erosion or vibration.
MD	Maldistribution warning. Appears when flow distribution between channels may be uneven.

Interacting with Results

Action	What Happens
Single click	Select row. Opens the detail panel on the right showing thermal performance, hydraulic data, and BOM with prices.
Double-click	Instantly opens the Datasheet tab for that result. The datasheet is pre-populated with all design data.
Click column header	Sort results by that column (toggle ascending/descending)

Detail Panel

The detail panel (right side) shows comprehensive data for the selected result:

• Thermal Performance — Duty (kW), LMTD (°C), U-clean, U-dirty, over surface %
• Hydraulic Data — Reynolds number, Prandtl number, channel/port velocity, pressure drop breakdown
• Heat Transfer Coefficients — HTC for hot and cold sides (W/m²K)
• Physical Data — Effective area, plate dimensions, connection size, weight
• Bill of Materials — Plates, gaskets, frame, connections with quantities and prices

CRM — Customer Relationship Management

The CRM module is the backbone of the application. It manages the full sales pipeline from initial customer contact through to won/lost project tracking. Every design and offer is linked to a customer and project.

Dashboard

The CRM Dashboard provides an at-a-glance overview of your sales activity:

• Welcome Bar — Shows your name, today's date, and quick action buttons (+ New Customer, + New Project, + New Item)
• Recent Projects Table — Lists projects with customer, items count, total value, and outcome status
• Pipeline Cards — Visual cards showing Pending, Won, and Lost project counts
• Top Pending Deals — Shows the highest-value open projects
• Pending Reminders — Follow-up reminders for projects needing attention
• Recent Activity — Timeline of recent actions (offers created, projects updated, etc.)

Customers

The Customers view uses a split-panel layout: customer list on the left, details on the right.

Creating a Customer

Customer Details

Each customer record includes:

• Company Info — Name, country, city, website, email, address, industry segment, tier
• Contacts — Multiple contacts per customer. Each has name, title, role (technical/commercial/management), phone, email. One contact can be marked as primary.
• Pricing — Discount percentages (plates, gaskets, frames, connections) and markup percentages. These automatically apply to all designs and offers for this customer.
• Commercial Terms — Default currency, validity days, payment terms, delivery time, Incoterms. These pre-fill when creating offers.
• Projects — List of all projects for this customer
• Notes — Internal notes with timestamps

Projects

A project belongs to a customer and groups related design items and offers together.

Creating a Project

Project Detail View

Click a project to open its detail view, which shows:

• Item Tabs — Each design item as a numbered tab. Click to view/edit. Use + New to add items, Copy to duplicate, Save to persist changes.
• Design Parameters — All input parameters for the selected item
• Saved Result — The selected design result with key data (model, plates, duty, price)
• Offers — List of offers created for this project
• Project Outcome — Track whether the project is won, lost, or pending. Record loss reasons for analysis.
• Notes & Reminders — Add follow-up reminders and internal notes

Items

An item represents a single heat exchanger requirement within a project. A project can have multiple items (e.g., a building with 3 different heat exchangers).

Creating an Item

Inquiries (AI Pipeline)

The Inquiries section automates data entry from customer emails and specification documents:

1. Upload — Click "+ New" to paste email text or upload PDF/Excel/Word files
2. AI Processing — The AI extracts customer info, project details, and PHE design parameters
3. Review — Verify extracted data, correct any errors, check missing data warnings
4. Approve — Creates customer, project, and items in CRM automatically

Offers & Quote Generation

The Offers system creates professional quotation documents. Each offer is linked to a project and includes all design items as priced line items.

Creating an Offer

Offer Line Items

Each line item in the offer corresponds to a design item. The offer shows:

• Item number — Sequential number within the offer
• Description — Auto-generated from design result (model, material, plate count)
• Quantity — Number of units (default 1, editable)
• Unit Price — Calculated from price list with customer discounts/markups applied
• Total Price — Quantity x Unit Price

Offer Preview

Click Offer Preview to see a formatted quotation page. This shows:

• Company logo and address (from CRM Settings)
• Customer details and contact person
• Offer number, date, validity period
• Line items with descriptions and prices
• Total price with currency
• Commercial terms (payment, delivery, Incoterms)
• Notes and bank details

Use your browser's Print → Save as PDF to generate a PDF document from the preview.

Bundle Preview

The Bundle Preview generates a complete documentation package in a single document:

1. Offer Page — The quotation with prices and terms
2. Datasheets — Technical datasheet for each line item
3. GA Drawings — General arrangement drawing for each item

This is the document you typically send to the customer — one PDF with everything they need to evaluate and approve the purchase.

Offer Lifecycle

Status	Description	Actions Available
Draft	Offer is being prepared. Prices and items can be edited.	Edit, Preview, Finalise
Finalised	Offer is locked. No more edits to prices or items.	Preview, Send, Revert to Draft
Sent	Offer has been sent to the customer.	Track, Won/Lost/Cancelled
Won	Customer accepted the offer.	View only (terminal status)
Lost	Customer rejected the offer. Record the loss reason.	View only (terminal status)
Cancelled	Offer withdrawn by the company.	View only (terminal status)

Revisions

If the customer requests changes after an offer is sent, you can create a revised offer. The system tracks all revision history so you can see how the offer evolved.

Offer List View

The CRM → Offers subnav shows all offers across all projects with:

• Search by offer number, customer name, or project
• Filter by status (Draft, Sent, Won, Lost, etc.)
• Date range filter
• Click any row to open the offer detail

Documents

Datasheets

The Datasheet tab displays a professional document for the selected design result. Four types are available:

Type	Content	When to Use
Commercial	Thermal + mechanical data in customer-friendly format	Include in offers and quotations
Technical	Full engineering detail with HTC, Re, Pr, velocity data	Internal review, engineering documentation
AHRI	AHRI 400 certified format	When AHRI certification is required (AHRI design mode only)
Steam	Condensation zones (desuperheating, condensation, subcooling)	Steam condenser applications (Steam design mode only)

Datasheets auto-populate with CRM information (customer name, project reference, item code) when working within a CRM context.

GA Drawings

The Drawing tab automatically loads the matching General Arrangement (GA) drawing based on the selected plate model, design pressure, and calculated frame length. Drawings are stored as PDF files and rendered as images for easy viewing.

Plate Arrangement

From the Datasheet tab, click Plate Arrangement to generate a manufacturing sequence sheet. This document is used by the factory to assemble the heat exchanger in the correct order.

• Punch List — Plate-by-plate sequence showing plate number, punch code, TERL code, plate type (L/R/S), and pass number
• Pack List — Summary table of unique plate types with quantities, material, thickness, and total gasket count
• Plate Reference Guide — Visual diagrams showing the difference between Left, Right, and Start plates, and H vs L channel corrugation patterns

Click Download Document to save the arrangement as an HTML file. Print to PDF from your browser.

Tools

Fluids Tab

The Fluids tab manages custom fluid property databases. You can add fluids with temperature-dependent properties that are then available in the Design tab fluid selector.

Built-in Fluids

• Water — Built-in polynomial correlations. No need to add manually.
• Ethylene Glycol — Available at various concentrations (10-60%)
• Propylene Glycol — Available at various concentrations (10-60%)

Adding a Custom Fluid

Price List Tab

View and manage component prices for all 27 plate models. Prices are organized by category:

• Plates — Per-plate price by model, material, and thickness
• Gaskets — Per-gasket price by model and gasket material
• Frames — Frame price by model, length, and design pressure
• Connections — Connection price by model and type

Three Price Levels

Level	Calculation
List Price	Base manufacturer price from the price list
Net Price	List Price - Customer Discount %
Sales Price	Net Price + Customer Markup %

Prices can be uploaded via Excel or edited in the app. Use Download Excel to export the current price list.

Correlations Tab

View the heat transfer and pressure drop correlations used for each plate model. This is a reference tool for engineers to understand the calculation basis (C, m, n coefficients for each channel type and flow regime).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Enter	Run design calculation (from any tab, while on Design)
Escape	Close the topmost modal, popup, or dialog
Tab	Move between design input fields in optimized order
Double-click	On a results row — jump directly to Datasheet for that result

Admin & Settings

User Management

Manage all user accounts in the system:

• Add Users — Create new accounts with username, password, role, and email
• Edit Users — Change roles, reset passwords, update contact info
• Activate/Deactivate — Disable accounts without deleting them
• Unlock Accounts — Unlock accounts locked due to failed login attempts
• Delete Users — Permanently remove accounts

Pending Approvals

When users self-register via the login page, their accounts require admin approval before they can access the system. Approve or reject pending registrations from this section.

Audit Log

View a chronological log of all user actions: logins, logouts, design calculations, offer creation, CRM changes, and more. Filter by user, action type, or date range.

News Management

Post announcements visible to all users. News items appear as popup notifications and in the News tab. Each item has a title, description, and optional image.

CRM Settings

Configure company-wide settings in CRM → Settings:

• Company Info — Company name, address, phone, email, logo (appears on offers and datasheets)
• Email Template — Default template for offer emails
• Default Currency — EUR, USD, GBP, or TRY
• Engineer Name — Default prepared-by name on datasheets
• Reminder Frequency — Days between automatic follow-up reminders

Email Inbox Setup

Configure the IMAP email inbox for the AI Inquiry Pipeline:

Once enabled, the system polls the inbox every 2 minutes for new emails. Forwarded inquiry emails are automatically processed by the AI and appear in CRM → Inquiries.