JPH0689996B2 - Tube cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention provides a container at both ends of a tube of a heat exchanger to clean the inside of the tube while moving a cleaning material. The present invention relates to a tube cleaning device for a heat exchanger, in which a cleaning material is reciprocated while appropriately switching between a forward direction and a reverse direction using a valve provided at an inlet / outlet of the exchanger to clean an inner wall of the tube.

[Conventional technology]

A heat exchanger transfers heat between two fluids flowing in and out of a tube whose both ends are fixed to a tube sheet, cools one fluid and heats the other fluid. Are likely to be deposited, and when foreign matter is deposited, the efficiency of heat exchange is significantly reduced.

Therefore, the tube cleaning material is stored in the containers provided at both ends of the tube of the heat exchanger, and the cleaning material is reciprocated in the tube regularly or at any time by utilizing the power of the internal fluid to remove the inner wall of the tube. It is normal to clean.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the tube 3 in the heat exchanger 1
Are attached to the tube sheet 2 by a method such as pipe expansion. There are water chambers 4 at both ends of the heat exchanger, and the fluid flows into the water chambers 4,
It passes through the tube 3 and flows out from the water chamber on the opposite side. The container 5 is attached to both ends of the tube 3 by holding plates 7, and the tube cleaning material 6 is housed in the container 5.

In FIG. 8, since the flow direction of the fluid in the tube is the right direction toward the drawing, the cleaning material 6 is housed in the right side container 5. In addition, the flow flows from the left side to the right side in the drawing, from the tube 3 to the container 5, and flows out from the small hole 51 of the container 5 into the water chamber 4 on the right side. The water chamber on the left is not shown.

If the flow direction is reversed to the left by switching the valve (not shown) connected to the inlet / outlet of the heat exchanger water chamber, the cleaning material 6 leaves the container 5 and flows inside the tube 3 while cleaning its inner wall. , Is held in a container that is similarly attached to the water chamber (not shown) on the opposite side (left side).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, as shown in FIG. 9, the conventionally used cleaning material 6 is such that a brush 62 is planted around a wire core material 61 and tip members 63 are provided at both ends. When water is passed through the heat exchanger provided with the material, if the fluid to be passed contains thread-like foreign matters such as hair or fibers, these foreign matters will be entangled with the brush 62. As the amount of entanglement increases, the size of the cleaning material 6 gradually increases, and finally the tube 3 cannot move.

This type of tube cleaning device is intended to keep the tubes of the heat exchanger clean at all times, and to omit maintenance such as normal tube cleaning by humans. However, the conventional brush-type cleaning material has a problem that it is easy to catch thread-like foreign matter, becomes inoperable within a short period of time, and requires frequent maintenance.

In order to prevent such thread-like foreign matter from being captured, there is a method in which a sponge ball is used instead of the brush. However, in this method, the contact area between the ball and the tube is small, and the cleaning effect does not appear so much in one operation or one reciprocating operation, and it is necessary to frequently switch the flow to increase the number of operations. . To switch the flow, "One-way flow" → "Flow stop" → "Reverse flow"
Therefore, increasing the switching of the flow means increasing the stoppage of the flow, and there is a problem that the mobility decreases and the heat exchange capacity decreases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems, to provide a tube cleaning device capable of preventing the capture of thread-like foreign matter, and performing an effective cleaning action in a short time operation. is there.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a container for a tube cleaning material at both ends of a tube of a heat exchanger, and reciprocates the cleaning material in the tube by utilizing a pressing force of an internal fluid. In the tube cleaning device for cleaning the inner wall of the tube, the cleaning material is provided with a core material made of a hard material in the axial direction, and the outer peripheral portion is a cylindrical shape formed of a soft sponge material. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device, which prevents foreign substances in the form of filaments from getting caught in the cleaning material, and increases the contact area with the inner surface of the tube when the tube cleaning material moves.
Effective cleaning can be performed in a short period of time, and a reduction in the operating rate of the cleaning device can be prevented.

It is desirable that the length of the cylindrical portion of the cleaning material be approximately 1.5 or more of its diameter. If it is shorter than this and there is no core material, the cleaning material may be bent and clogged tightly inside the tube, and it may not be possible to remove it even if backflow is given, but almost 1.
If it is 5 times or more, there is almost no risk of clogging.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following examples mainly describe examples of the cleaning material, and other parts are almost the same as those in FIG. However, the container for the one shown in FIG. 2 is different from that shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a cleaning material 6 constructed by providing a sponge portion 64 around a core material 67. In the cleaning material 6, the core material 67 is made of a hard material such as hard plastic, and the sponge portion 64 is made of a sponge-like soft material such as polyurethane.

Further, the cleaning material 6 has a substantially cylindrical shape (cylindrical shape) in which a conical tip portion 66 is formed at both ends of a cylindrical portion 65 having a length L and a diameter D. The cylindrical portion 65 has a length L with a diameter D.
Molded to be 1.5 times or more (L ≧ 1.5D).

In this embodiment, the inner surface of the tube can be contacted with a large area to efficiently clean the inner surface of the tube in a short time, and no thread-like foreign matter is caught in the cleaning. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cleaning material 6 is not crushed in the axial direction by the action of the core material 67 even if water pressure is applied, and it is possible to prevent the flow resistance from increasing due to the crushing in the axial direction to increase the diameter. it can. Also, it is resistant to bending, and even if the length is short, it does not bend in the tube and clogging can be prevented.

As the core material 67, a material which is of the same quality as the sponge portion 64 and whose density is increased to increase the strength, or a foreign material plastic material having a strength higher than that of the sponge portion 64, or a metal material such as a titanium rod is used. Is easy to integrally mold. Is preferably integrated by adhesion or welding, and is preferably integrated by adhesion.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment in which the core material 67 is formed of a hollow pipe, and the container 5'at the end of the tube has a rod-like structure and has a simple structure, and the flow path resistance is extremely small. can do.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment, which is equipped with a plurality of core members 67.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show different embodiments, in which protective members 68 made of a hard material such as hard plastic are provided at both ends in the axial direction. The cleaning material 6 breaks off and falls off from the sponge material on both ends that has been used for a long time. The protection member 68 prevents this wear and keeps the cleaning material 6 for a long life.

As the protective member 68, a member having the same quality as the sponge and having a high density, a member cured by heating, a member having different strength, or the like is used. In this case, the core material 67 and the protection member 68 may be integrally formed. When the protective members 68 are provided at both ends, the core material 67 and the sponge portion 64 do not have to be integrated.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment in which an annular (or spiral) uneven groove 69 is provided on the surface of the cylindrical portion 65, and when the fluid contains oil, the oil is uneven Since the oil escapes to the groove 69, the oil does not adhere to the surface of the cylindrical portion 65 and hinders the movement of the cleaning material 6, and the oil accumulated in the uneven groove 69 is deformed while the sponge portion 64 is moving. Therefore, it will be discharged and the adhesion will not grow. Therefore, it can be applied to fluids containing oil.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment, in which a fine protrusion 70 is provided on the surface of the cylindrical portion 65. As in the previous example, there is a relief recess for oil, and it can be applied to fluids containing oil.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, even if thread-like foreign matter is mixed in the fluid, there is no danger of entanglement, and since the periphery is substantially cylindrical, the contact area with the inner surface of the tube is large, and further, since there is the core 67, the axial direction due to water pressure Crushing is prevented, smooth reciprocating motion can be secured, effective cleaning work can be performed with only a few operations, and the operating rate of the heat exchanger can be improved.
It is possible to provide a tube cleaning device having an increased capacity, and it is possible to achieve a very great effect in practice.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a longitudinal sectional view and (b) is a side view. 8th
FIG. 9 is a front view of a longitudinal section of a main part of a conventional heat exchanger, and FIG. 9 is a front view of a conventional cleaning material. 1 ... Heat exchanger, 2 ... Tube plate 3 ... Tube, 4 ... Water chamber 5, 5 '... Storage device, 6 ... Cleaning material 7 ... Holding plate, 8 ... Filiform foreign material 10 ... Blade, 11 …… Blade 11 ′ …… Blade edge, 11 ″ …… Ring 51 …… Small hole, 61 …… Core material 62 …… Brush, 63 …… Tip member 64 …… Sponge portion, 65 …… Cylindrical portion 66 ...... Tip, 67 …… Core material 68 …… Protective member, 69 …… Uneven groove 70 …… Protrusion.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tube cleaning device for cleaning the inner wall of the tube by providing a container for the tube cleaning material at both ends of the tube of the heat exchanger, and reciprocating the cleaning material in the tube by utilizing the pressing force of an internal fluid. In, the cleaning material is equipped with a core material made of a hard material in the axial direction,
A tube cleaning device, wherein the outer peripheral portion is a cylinder or a column formed of a sponge-like soft material. 2. The tube cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein protective members made of a hard material are provided on both ends of the cleaning material in the axial direction.