JPS602898A - Tube cleaning device of heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the tube cleaning device which is simply removable and easily maintainable by a method wherein a container of a tube cleaning material is fixed to a tube with a ring made of configuration memory alloy. CONSTITUTION:The end part of a container 3 is inserted into the end part of a tube 1, and built-in thereof. The critical temperature of a ring 4 made of configulation memory alloy is lower than the ordinnery temperature, the ring 4 memorizes to the size capable of expanding the end part of the container 3 by the force from the inside thereof and fixing to the interior diameter of a tube 1 by the pressure. At the assembly of the ring 4 is cooled lower than the critical temperature, and made to be small size, then held inside of the end part of the container 3, kept under the ordinnery temperature after inserting, thus, the end part of the container 3 is expanded and fixed to the interior diameter of the tube 1 by the pressure. At the removing of the ring, the ring 4 is cooled and made to be small size, or removed after cutting. Thereby, the fixing work of the container 3 to the tube 1 is performed easily an rapidly even though the number of tube is large, also the removing of the container 3 is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tube cleaning device for cleaning the inside of a tube of a tube heat exchanger.

A method of cleaning the inside of the tubes of a tube heat exchanger by moving a cleaning tool such as a brush or sponge ball back and forth is used.

In this method, a storage container is attached to both ends of the tube to store the cleaning tools inside the water chamber, and the cleaning tools that have passed through the tube are held in the storage container at one end and then heated. The exchanger continues to operate, and when the inside of the tube becomes dirty, the water flow inside the tube is switched between reverse and forward, and the cleaning tool is moved back and forth to clean the inside of the tube.

In this type of method, when attaching the storage container to both ends of the tube, the conventional method is to insert the tube at the end of the storage container inside the tube end, and fix it by expanding the tube from the inside of this tube using a tube roller. A method is being adopted to do so.

However, such a conventional fixing method requires a great deal of effort, especially when there are a large number of tubes, and once attached, it cannot be removed other than by destroying it, making maintenance extremely difficult.

Furthermore, if the container is made of non-metallic material, the tube expansion method cannot be used, so if the container is made of metal, it will be disadvantageous in terms of weight and cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tube cleaning device for a heat exchanger that can be easily installed and removed, is easy to maintain, and can be made of non-metallic materials, while eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional devices.

The present invention provides a tube cleaning device for a heat exchanger, which includes a tube cleaning material storage container at an end of a tube of a tube type heat exchanger, and cleans the tube by reciprocating the cleaning material inside the tube. The inner end of the container is inserted inside the end of the tube, and the inner end is fixed to the tube by the expansion force of a ring made of a shape memory alloy inserted inside the inner end. This is a heat exchanger tube cleaning device characterized by:

Embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The heat exchanger tube 1 is attached to the tube plate 2 by a method such as tube expansion. Ice chambers (one of which is the chamber on the right side of the tube sheet 2 in FIG. 1) are provided at both ends of the heat exchanger. A container 3 is installed at the end of the tube 1 by inserting its end into the end of the tube 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a ring made of a shape memory alloy, whose transformation point is below room temperature, and whose dimensions are large enough to allow the end of the container 3 to be expanded from the inside and crimped and fixed to the inner diameter of the tube 1 at room temperature. It is a ring that remembers what will become. At the time of insertion, the ring 4 is cooled to a temperature below the transformation temperature to a small size and held inside the end of the container 3, and after insertion, as shown in FIG. The ring 4 returns to its memorized size, expands the end of the container 3, and is crimped onto the inner diameter of the tube 1. When removing the ring 4, the ring 4 may be cooled and reduced in size, or only the ring 4 may be cut and removed using a drill.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a stop plate provided at the outer end of the storage container 3, and is used to stop a cleaning tool 6 such as a brush from being pulled out. The stop plate 5 is made of a shape memory alloy and has a transformation point that is much higher than the operating temperature of the heat exchanger. This reduced shape is memorized so that when it is crossed, it becomes a reduced shape such as 5' that will come out of the fitting.

For mounting, after the cleaning tool 6 is stored in the storage container 3, the stop plate 5 is heated to a temperature higher than the transformation temperature to bring it into the state 5' and then mounted. As the stop plate 5 cools, it becomes 5″,
When the state 5 is reached, the cleaning tool 6 is lifted up.

To remove the stop plate 5, heat the stop plate 5 to above the transformation temperature.
2, it returns to the memorized state 5' and can be easily removed.

In the above example, attachment and detachment of the stop plate 5 is extremely easy and simple, and maintenance such as replacement of the cleaning tool 6 is facilitated. Further, the work of fixing the container 3 to the tube 1 becomes easier, and furthermore, the container 3 can be removed.

According to the present invention, the work of fixing the container 3 to the tube 1 is
To provide a tube cleaning device for a heat exchanger that is easy and quick even when there are a large number of tubes, allows the storage container 3 to be removed, and can also use a non-metallic material. It is possible to achieve a very effective effect in practical terms.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 2 is a side view. 1...Tube, 2...Tube plate, 3...Storage container, 4...Ring, 5.5', 5''...11-plate, 6...Cleaning tool. Patent applicant Ebara Corporation representative Private Patent Attorney 11) Minoru Takao Maruyama

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tube cleaning device for a heat exchanger, in which a tube cleaning material storage container is provided at the end of the tube of a tube type heat exchanger, and cleaning is performed by reciprocating the cleaning material inside the tube. the inner end is inserted inside the end of the tube, and the inner end is fixed to the tube by the expansion force of a ring made of a shape memory alloy inserted inside the inner end. A heat exchanger tube cleaning device characterized by: