Patent Application
20170343308
This disclosure relates to cleaning systems for heat exchangers, such as tube bundles, and in particular relates an improved system and method for using the same.
Tube bundle heat exchangers are known and are used to transfer heat between a first fluid, which passes over the tube bundle, and a second fluid carried through the tube bundle. During operation, the exterior of the tube bundle may accumulate deposits from elements within the first fluid. Such deposits may inhibit heat transfer. From time to time, the tube bundles are cleaned to remove the deposits and restore efficient heat transfer.
One technique for cleaning the exterior of the tube bundles involves operation of system including a spray nozzle that is positioned by way of a crane. Known systems include a control panel hard-wired or hydraulically connected to the cleaning system. A user is required to manually position the crane during the entirety of the cleaning process using the control panel. Further, a separate control panel is used to rotate the tube bundles, to expose various surfaces of the tube bundles to the cleaning fluid. The user must devote substantial attention to the relative positions of the tube bundles and spray nozzle throughout the entirety of the cleaning process.
A cleaning system according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a spray cleaning head configured to expel a flow of fluid. The spray cleaning head is moveable along a cleaning path. The system further includes a control unit configured to control movement of the spray cleaning head along the cleaning path automatically. A method is also disclosed.
The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.
The drawings can be briefly described as follows:
This disclosure relates to an exterior heat exchanger cleaning system and method for using the same. Such systems are sometimes known as “shell side” cleaning systems. Example heat exchangers include tube bundles, however this disclosure is not limited to tube bundle heat exchangers.
In the disclosed system, a user can position a spray cleaning head relative to a heat exchanger using a wireless, hand-held control unit. The wireless control unit can also activate rollers configured to rotate the heat exchanger being cleaned. In one example method, at least a portion of the cleaning process can be automated. Automating a portion of the cleaning process allows the user to turn attention to other tasks.
The system 20 generally includes a spray cleaning head 22 including a spray nozzle 24. The spray cleaning head 22 is mounted to a support, which in this example is a crane 26. The crane 26 is moveable to position the spray cleaning head 22. In one example, the crane 26 is a hydraulic crane.
The crane 26 includes an arm 28 which is mounted to a crane support 30. The crane support 30 is, in turn, mounted to a stationary support 32, which in this example is a truck bed. The crane support 30 is configured to travel in side-to-side directions D1, D2 along a track mounted to the stationary support 32, for example. The side-to-side directions D1, D2 run parallel to the length of the stationary support 32.
With reference to
In one example, the arm 28 is moveable up to about 16.5 feet (about 5 m) away from the horizontal support 40. With reference to
With reference to
One pair of active and passive rollers (e.g., 42A and 44A) may be used to support a tube bundle, as illustrated in
With reference to
In this example, the control unit 48 is a wireless control unit including a wireless transceiver 50 configured to send and receive signals to the remainder of the system 20. Further, the control unit 48 is hand-held. Providing a hand-held, wireless control unit 48 allows the user U to operate the control unit 48 from a remote distance (see
The user U may control, among other things, the position of the spray cleaning head 22 and the rotation of the tube bundle 46 via the control unit 48. In other words, the user U can, among other things, adjust the position of the crane support 30 along the directions D1, D2, can adjust the position of the arm 28 along the directions D3, D4, and can selectively activate the active rollers 42A. As will be discussed below, the control unit 48 is also configured to control an automated cleaning operation. The control unit 48 is further configured to tilt or rotate the spray cleaning head 22 relative to the arm 28 (e.g., about axis A2), to adjust the rotational speed of the spray nozzle 24 (e.g., about axis A1), to adjust the height H of the spray nozzle 24 relative to the tube bundle 46, and to adjust the speed of travel along the side-to-side directions D1-D2.
In one example automated cleaning operation, the spray cleaning head 22 is configured to automatically reciprocate back-and-forth along the length of the tube bundle 46.
In this example, the cleaning path 52 has a first end limit 54 and a second end limit 56. The first end limit 54 corresponds to a first end 58 of the tube bundle 46 and the second end limit corresponds to a second end 60 of the tube bundle 46. The end limits 54, 56 of the cleaning path 52 can be defined by the user U using the control unit 48. Alternatively, the cleaning path 52 can be pre-defined. In either case, the cleaning path 52 is selected to ensure adequate cleaning of the tube bundle 46. To this end, the spray cleaning head 22 is reciprocated, back-and-forth, in the directions D1, D2 to traverse the length of the tube bundle 46. The control unit 48 regulates this reciprocal movement. In one example, the reciprocal movement is automatic, which means the spray cleaning head 22 follows the cleaning path 52 completely under the direction of the control unit 48 without requiring any user input.
Once the cleaning path 52 is defined, cleaning of the tube bundle 46 begins, at 108. During cleaning, the spray cleaning head 22 moves along the cleaning path 52 in a reciprocating fashion. That is, the spray cleaning head 22 moves from the first end limit 54 to the second end limit 56, and so on. Again, the reciprocal movement of the spray cleaning head 22 along the cleaning path 52 is automatic. The user U can override or modify the movement of the spray cleaning head 22 along the spray cleaning path 52, but user U input is not required.
By automating the reciprocal movement of the spray cleaning head 22, the user U no longer needs to monitor this aspect of the operation of the system 20. Instead, the user U can focus on using the control unit 48 to adjust the position of the spray nozzles 24, the arm 28, and the rollers 44A. The user U can also attend to other tasks, such as operating an interior tube cleaner. To this end, the user U can operate the system 20 from within an interior cab of another system, such as the ATL-5000, which is an interior tube cleaning system offered by NLB Corp. Again, this increases user safety.
The spray cleaning head 22 moves along the cleaning path 52 at an adjustable speed. If the speed of the spray cleaning head 22 requires adjustment, at 110, the user U can make an appropriate adjustment, at 112. The speed may be adjustable from zero up to a predetermined threshold, which has been set to account for safety and effective cleaning. Likewise, at 114, if any number of other adjustments to the system 20 are required, the user U can make the appropriate adjustment, at 116. Example adjustments include adjustments to the angle of the spray cleaning head 22 (i.e., about axis A2), movements of the spray cleaning head 22 in the directions D3, D4, movements relative to the height H of the spray cleaning head 22, and the speed of rotation of the spray nozzle 24 about the axis A1. These adjustments can be made by the user U using a corresponding button, slider, or switch on the control unit 48.
Additionally, if the exposed surface of the tube bundle 46 is clean, at 118, the user U uses the control unit 48 to activate the rollers (e.g., 42A) to expose a surface of the tube bundle 46 that still requires cleaning, at 120. The user U does not need to access a separate, dedicated panel for the rollers, which increases efficiency.
In some examples, the spray cleaning head 22 reciprocates along the cleaning path for a predetermined amount of time. In other examples, there is no set amount of time, and the user U monitors whether the tube bundle 46 has been adequately cleaned. When there is a predetermined amount of time, however, the control unit 48 determines whether the time has lapsed, at 122, and, if so, ends the cleaning process at 124.
The disclosed system 20 is fully operable by way of a wireless control unit, which increases user safety. Further, certain aspects of the cleaning process have been automated, which frees the user to attend to other tasks. Thus, the disclosure increases safety and increases efficiency.
While in the above-discussed example, only the reciprocal movement of the spray cleaning head 22 has been automated, in other examples the position of the arm 28 may be automated throughout the cleaning cycle, the angular position of the spray cleaning head 22 relative to the arm 28 may be automated (e.g., the position of the spray cleaning head relative to angle A2), and a rotation of the tube bundles 46 may be automated.
Further, while the above-discussed example specifically mentions a wireless control unit 48, the method 100 of this disclosure could be performed using a control unit that is capable of being hard-wired. The control unit 48 may work wirelessly and also have the option to be hard-wired in one example. This provides the control unit 48 with adaptability, such as in environments where an operator is not allowed to use wireless signals, or if the transmitter battery of the control unit 48 is no longer operable. Even when hard-wired, the wire would be sized such that the user U can stand at a safe distance during operation of the system 20.
It should be understood that terms such as side-to-side, forward, rearward, etc., are used above with reference to the normal operational attitude of the system 20. Further, these terms have been used herein for purposes of explanation, and should not be considered otherwise limiting. Terms such as “generally,” “substantially,” and “about” are not intended to be boundaryless terms, and should be interpreted consistent with the way one skilled in the art would interpret those terms.
Although the different examples have the specific components shown in the illustrations, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the examples in combination with features or components from another one of the examples.
One of ordinary skill in this art would understand that the above-described embodiments are exemplary and non-limiting. That is, modifications of this disclosure would come within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content.
