JP2007178096A - Heat exchanger with cleaning device and its operation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of easily cleaning a heat exchanger, and a heat exchanger incorporating the cleaning device. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device 40 having a plurality of openings 45 on a part faced to the heat exchanger, and comprising a detergent substance charging port 48, is disposed near the heat exchanger composed of a pipe 10, a fin, a tube plate 30 and the like. A cleaning substance, wash water/hot water and the air are successively charged into the charging port 48, thus the heat exchanger can be cleaned with less labor. Further this method is effective even to the heat exchanger disposed at a position difficult in cleaning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat exchanger mainly used for an air conditioner, and more particularly to a heat exchanger with a cleaning device and an operation method thereof.

  In heat exchangers that make up an air conditioner, if contamination such as dust deposits on the surface of the fins progresses, the heat exchange efficiency on the surface of the heat exchanger (fins) decreases and passes through the heat exchanger. The amount of air to be reduced is also reduced. For this reason, since it becomes impossible to exchange predetermined heat with a heat exchanger, the phenomenon that cooling becomes difficult or discharge pressure of a compressor becomes high appears. These events must be avoided because they increase the power consumption of the air conditioner or cause a failure of the compressor.

  Conventionally, the measures for solving the problems due to the fouling of the heat exchanger have been to provide a filter that collects dust upstream of the heat exchanger and to periodically clean the heat exchanger. There has been proposed a heat exchanger that can prevent fin deformation and thin the fin even when washed with high-pressure water (high-pressure washing) (Patent Document 1). According to this heat exchanger, when fins of the heat exchanger are subjected to high-pressure washing, the fins at the portions exposed to the high-pressure washing water can be subjected to wave-like reinforcement to increase the rigidity.

  As for cleaning of an air conditioner in a railway vehicle, there are generally two ways of cleaning when the air conditioner is mounted on the vehicle and when the air conditioner is lowered from the vehicle. The cleaning cycle when the air conditioner is mounted on the vehicle body is 1 to 2 years, and the cleaning cycle when the air conditioner is lowered from the vehicle body and a mistress is about 8 years. In any case, not only the cleaning of the heat exchanger is the main purpose, but also the performance deterioration investigation of the electrical components constituting the air conditioner and the replacement work of the bearings of the blower are performed together.

  The cleaning method (contents) performed with the air conditioner mounted on the vehicle body will be described. When cleaning the heat exchanger of the air conditioner mounted on the roof of the vehicle, the cleaner who has gone up to the roof first removes the cover of the air conditioner housing. Thereafter, the heat exchanger and its surroundings are roughly cleaned with a brush, and the collected dust is sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.

  When cleaning the air conditioner that has been lowered from the vehicle body, after separating the electrical components (such as the blower) that make up the air conditioner from the housing, the device that has only the housing and the heat exchanger (refrigeration cycle) Clean in a washing facility equipped with detergent / hot water spraying equipment, high-pressure washing equipment, etc.

In any case, since the cleaning cycle is long, the degree of contamination of the heat exchanger is severe. And since work, such as removing a cover, occurs before cleaning the heat exchanger, it cannot be said that the structure is easy to perform maintenance (cleaning of the heat exchanger), and the maintenance cost tends to increase. Moreover, since the cleaning cycle is long, it is necessary to make the heat exchanger slightly larger in view of performance deterioration due to fouling.
JP 2002-372389 A

  For this reason, if the heat exchanger can be easily and frequently cleaned, the degree of contamination of the heat exchanger is small, so that the heat exchanger can be cleaned with little effort. Further, since it is assumed that the heat exchanger does not proceed with contamination, it is not necessary to increase the size in anticipation of performance degradation due to the contamination. Furthermore, since it is possible to avoid the failure of the compressor and the poor cooling effect due to the contamination of the heat exchanger, it is possible to improve the reliability and avoid the decrease in service to the passengers.

  The object of the present invention is to recognize the problems of the prior art described above and to prevent the heat exchanger from fouling and to easily clean the heat exchanger. (Heat exchanger cleaning device) and its operation method.

  According to the heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to the present invention, a cleaning device that jets a cleaning substance to the heat exchanger is attached to the heat exchanger, and the cleaning device includes the heat exchanger. This can be achieved by providing a plurality of openings through which the cleaning substance is ejected.

  Here, the substance having a cleaning action indicates a detergent, cleaning water, hot water, air or the like. A cleaning device having a plurality of holes and capable of ejecting a cleansing substance to a heat exchanger is, for example, a combination of a hollow member such as a pipe and a cleansing substance in the hollow part. It is a device that can be pumped. And this apparatus can wash | clean a heat exchanger by injecting a substance with a washability from the hole provided in this hollow part toward a heat exchanger.

  The heat exchanger includes a tube plate, a pipe that is supported by the tube plate and through which a working fluid flows, and a fin that is arranged in parallel to the tube plate and is coupled to the pipe so as to be able to transfer heat. The cleaning device can be attached to the heat exchanger by being attached to the tube plate. That is, about a washing | cleaning apparatus, it can prepare for a heat exchange apparatus by attaching to the tube board which fixes the pipe of a heat exchanger.

  Moreover, the same member may be sufficient as the said tube plate of the said heat exchanger, and the tube plate which installs the said piping of the said washing | cleaning apparatus, and another member may be sufficient as it. Moreover, it is preferable that a washing | cleaning apparatus is installed in the flow direction downstream of the heat exchanger air with respect to the said heat exchanger from a viewpoint of peeling of deposits, such as dust deposited on the pipe of the heat exchange apparatus. Furthermore, a part of the piping constituting the cleaning device can be used as an inlet for supplying the cleaning substance.

  In the heat exchanger with a cleaning device, the cleaning device can be operated in the order of ejecting foaming detergent as the cleaning substance, then cleaning water or hot water, and then air. . According to this operation method, it is possible to remove dirt with a detergent, wash it off with washing water or hot water, and further dry it with blown air.

  According to the heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to the present invention, it is possible to easily clean a heat exchanger that is difficult to clean, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the heat exchanger from becoming dirty. And since a heat exchanger can be cleaned easily, a maintenance cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 show an example of a heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to the present invention. In general, the heat exchanger connects the pipe 10 through which the refrigerant flows and the end of the pipe 10, a U bend 15 for configuring a continuous refrigerant flow path, fins 20 for expanding the contact area of air, And tube plates 30 and 30 on both ends. The plurality of fins 20 are arranged in parallel between the tube plates 30 and 30, and are coupled to the pipes 10 so that heat is transmitted between the pipes 10 penetrating therethrough. In the heat exchanger, a pipe having a slightly larger diameter is inserted into the copper pipe 10 and the pipe 10 is expanded, so that the pipe 10, the fins 20 and the tube plate 30 are mechanically coupled to form an integral heat exchanger. Constitute. In an actual heat exchanger, the interval between adjacent fins 20 is several mm, but in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the interval between the fins 20 and the fins 20 is shown large to facilitate understanding of the contents of the invention. Further, the pipe 10 and the U bend 15 constituting the heat exchanger are partially omitted.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which a cleaning device 40 including a pipe (a member having a hollow portion) is provided near the heat exchanger. FIG. 2 is a view of the heat exchanger with a cleaning device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the back. And FIG. 3 is the figure which expanded a part of heat exchanger with a washing | cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, the site | part which faces the heat exchanger of the washing | cleaning apparatus 40 is provided with the countless opening 45 (hole: FIG. 3). Then, for example, if air is introduced from a port 48 into which a cleaning substance that is a part of the cleaning device 40 is introduced, the air is ejected from the opening 45 toward the pipe 10 and the fins 20 constituting the heat exchanger, The dust accumulated on the surface of the fin 20 is removed by blowing away.

  In addition, when the heat exchanger is severely fouled, as a method of operating the cleaning device, for example, a detergent with a foaming property, cleaning water or hot water, and air may be input in this order into the mouth 48 into which the cleaning material is input. Further, it is possible to clean the heat exchanger more effectively because it can be cleaned with detergent, rinsed with washing water or hot water, and further dried with the air blown out.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the air passing through the heat exchanger flows in the direction of the arrow 100, dust and dirt accumulated in the heat exchanger are accumulated on the upstream side of the fins 20. Even if a jet of air or the like is blown from the same upstream side, the dust and dirt and the like accumulated so as to reduce resistance to the air flow are hardly peeled off from the fins 20. If the cleaning device 40 is provided downstream of the heat exchanger and the air or the like ejected from the opening 45 formed in the pipe constituting the cleaning device 40 is ejected in the opposite direction with respect to the air flow 100, they will overlap. The dust, dust filling, etc. accumulated on the fins 20 are scraped by the jet and can be easily removed.

  In the above embodiment, the cleaning device 40 ejects the cleaning liquid from the downstream side of the air flow toward the upper both sides of the opening 45, but it may be ejected from the upstream side toward the downstream side.

  4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present invention. 4 and 5 show an example in which the cleaning device 40 is held by an independent tube plate 60 and the tube plate 60 is fixed to the tube plate 30 to constitute a heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In this case, when manufacturing a heat exchanger with a cleaning device, it is better not to share the tube plate 60 that fixes the cleaning device 40 with the tube plate 30 that fixes the pipe 10 and the fins 20 constituting the heat exchanger. Applies to The method shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is also effective when the cleaning device 40 is fixed to an existing heat exchanger.

The perspective view which shows one Example of the heat exchanger with a washing | cleaning apparatus by this invention. The perspective view which shows the other side of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a range surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 2. The perspective view which shows another Example of the heat exchanger with a washing | cleaning apparatus by this invention. The enlarged view of the range enclosed with the dotted line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: pipe, 15: U bend, 20: fin, 30: tube plate, 40: cleaning device, 45: opening (hole) of cleaning device, 48: inlet for cleaning material, 50: aggregate of pipe and fin , 60: plate for fixing the cleaning device, 100: arrow indicating the ventilation direction

Claims (6)

A cleaning device for jetting the cleaning substance to the heat exchanger is attached to the heat exchanger,
The cleaning device includes a pipe disposed along the heat exchanger, and a plurality of openings for ejecting a cleaning substance are formed in the pipe.
A heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In the heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to claim 1,
The heat exchanger includes a tube plate, a pipe that is supported by the tube plate and through which a working fluid flows, and a fin that is arranged in parallel to the tube plate and is coupled to the pipe so as to be able to transfer heat,
The cleaning device is attached to the heat exchanger by being attached to the tube plate;
A heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In the heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to claim 2,
The tube plate of the heat exchanger and the tube plate on which the piping of the cleaning device is installed are the same member,
A heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In the heat exchanger with a cleaning device according to claim 2,
The tube plate of the heat exchanger and the tube plate on which the piping of the cleaning device is installed are separate members,
The tube plate of the cleaning device is installed on the downstream side in the flow direction of the heat exchanger air with respect to the tube plate of the heat exchanger;
A heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In the heat exchanger with a washing | cleaning apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4,
A part of the piping constituting the cleaning device is an input port for supplying the cleaning substance;
A heat exchanger with a cleaning device. In the heat exchanger with a washing | cleaning apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4,
The cleaning device spouts foaming detergent as the cleaning substance, and then sprays cleaning water or hot water, and then air.
A method of operating a heat exchanger with a cleaning device.

Images