WO2002054003A1

WO2002054003A1 - Apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser

Info

Publication number: WO2002054003A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/002242
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Ho Kim
Original assignee: Tac Korea Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-12-29
Filing date: 2001-12-22
Publication date: 2002-07-11
Also published as: KR200227922Y1

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a shell end tube type condenser, which includes a cylindrical sieve arranged in a ball separating tube and adapted to be used as both an outlet pipe for fluid and a ball recovery pipe (8), a ball storage tank (30), and a circulating pump (42) while dispensing with a compressor and a fluid storage device,which are conventionally required, thereby being capable of simplifying the overall configuration, reducing the time and expense required for installation, maintenance, and repair in association with the cleaning of the fluid transport pipes. Balls (10) serving to clean the fluid transport pipe (12) are naturally circulated by the fluid passing through the condenser (11) in accordance with a periodic operation of the circulating pump (42), thereby efficiently cleaning and maintaining the inner surfaces of the fluid transport pipes (12).

Description

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING FLUID TRANSPORT PIPES IN A CONDENSER

Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser, and more particularly to an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a shell end tube type condenser, which includes a cylindrical sieve arranged in a ball separating tube and adapted to be used as both an outlet pipe for fluid and a ball recovery pipe, a ball storage tank, and a circulating pump while dispensing with a compressor and a fluid storage device, which are conventionally required, thereby being capable of simplifying the overall configuration, reducing the time and expense required for installation, maintenance, and repair in association with the cleaning of the fluid transport pipes, macroscopically checking the amount of balls stored in the ball storage tank, periodically operating the circulating pump in accordance with a set timer operation, supplying the balls to an inlet pipe in accordance with the operation of the circulating pump, allowing the supplied balls to be naturally circulated by fluid flowing through the inlet pipe, thereby cleaning the fluid transport pipes, reversely rotating the circulating pump to reduce the pressure of a fluid recovery conduit, and recovering the balls collected near a ball outlet into the ball storage tank in accordance with a pressure difference caused by the pressure reduction in the fluid recovery conduit, so that the balls serving to clean the fluid transport pipe are naturally circulated by the fluid passing through the condenser in accordance with the periodic operation of the circulating pump, thereby efficiently cleaning and maintaining the inner surfaces of the fluid transport pipes .

Background Art

Conventionally, scales attached to the inner surfaces of fluid transport pipes in a condenser are removed under the condition in which the condenser is disassembled or exploded. In order to solve problems involved with the requirement for such a condenser disassembling or exploding process, specific techniques have been proposed in which balls made of sponge or the like are supplied into a condenser equipped with fluid transport pipes so that they are moved along with the fluid in the fluid transport pipes to remove scales attached to the fluid transport pipes. Such techniques are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,919,372 (issued on November 15, 1975), Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Sho. 63-23839 (published on October 4, 1988), and U.S. Patent No. 4,865,21 (issued on September 12, 1989) . Also, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 96-706061 (published on November 8, 1996) discloses a cleaning apparatus for removing scales attached to the inner walls of fluid transport pipes equipped in a condenser. This cleaning apparatus is illustrated in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, a condenser 11 is connected to an inlet pipe 2 adapted to receive a fluid from a pump 1. The condenser 11 is provided with a plurality of parallel fluid transport pipes 12, through which the fluid flows. Operating fluid passages 12' are defined among the fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11. An operating fluid such as cooling gas flows through the operating fluid passage 12' . An outlet pipe 3 is connected to the condenser 11 opposite to the inlet pipe 2. A valve 21 is installed in the outlet pipe 3.

A ball separating pipe 14 is arranged above the outlet pi e 3 while being connected at its inlet and outlet with the outlet pipe 3. A cylindrical sieve 13 is arranged in the ball separating pipe 14. Valves 22 and 23 are arranged in the inlet and outlet of the ball separating pipe 14, respectively. A conduit 15 is connected at one end thereof to the ball separating pipe 14 at an end of the ball separating pipe 14 near the outlet of the ball separating pipe 14, in order to collect the balls 10. The other end of the conduit 15 is connected to a fluid storage device 36. A valve 24 and a check valve 24' are installed at the conduit 15. A conduit 16 is branched from the conduit 15. The conduit 16 is connected at an inlet thereof to the fluid storage device 36 while being connected at an outlet thereof to the inlet pipe 2. A valve 25 and a check valve 25' are installed at the conduit 16. The fluid storage device 36 is arranged below the cross point between the conduits 15 and 16. The fluid storage device 36 includes a fluid storage section 32 arranged at a lower portion of the fluid storage device 36 and adapted to store fluid, and a ball storage section 34 arranged at an upper portion of the fluid storage device 36. A sieve 31 is arranged in the ball storage section 34 to filter balls 10. A ball supply port 35 is formed at the upper portion of the fluid storage device 36 in order to supply balls 10 into the ball storage section 34. The ball storage section 34 is communicated with the fluid storage section 32 via a tube 33. A compressor 37 adapted to supply compressed air is connected to the fluid storage section 32 of the fluid storage device 36 via an air tube 38 at which an automatic valve 26 is installed. A drain pipe 4 is connected to the fluid storage section 32 of the fluid storage device 36. A pressure reduction device 39, which may be an automatic valve, is connected to the drain port, in order to reduce the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the fluid storage device 36.

Now, the operation of this cleaning apparatus disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 96-706061 (published on November 8, 1996) will be described. Where the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12 installed in parallel in the condenser 11 are to be cleaned, the pump 1 is first driven to supply fluid into the inlet pipe 2. In this state, the valve -21 of the outlet pipe 3 is closed, whereas the valves 22 and 23 respectively installed at the inlet and outlet of the ball separating pipe 14 are opened. Also, the valves 24 and 25 respectively installed at the conduit 15 and 16 are opened. When the automatic valve 26 is subsequently opened in accordance with an operation of a timer (not shown) , compressed air from the compressor 37 is supplied to the fluid storage device 36. By the pressure of the supplied compressed air, the fluid stored in the fluid storage section 32 of the fluid storage device 36 is forced to move upwardly into the ball storage section 34 via the tube 33. As a result, the balls 10 laid on the sieve 31 are fed into the inlet pipe 2 via the conduit 16 opened in accordance with the opened state of its check valve 25' and its valve 25. Once the balls 10 are supplied into the inlet pipe 2, the automatic valve 26 is automatically closed, thereby preventing the compressed air from being supplied into the fluid storage device 36.

The balls 10 reaching the inlet pipe 2 are fed into the interior of the condenser 11 by the flowing force of the fluid supplied from the pump 1. The balls 10 then remove scales attached to the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12 while passing through the fluid transport pipes 12. After emerging from the fluid transport pipes 12, the balls 10 are introduced into the ball separating pipe 14 along with the fluid via the opened valve 22 because the valve 21 installed at the outlet pipe 3 is in its closed state. The fluid introduced into the ball separating pipe 14 passes through the cylindrical sieve 13, and then enters the outlet pipe 3 via the opened valve 23, so that it is outwardly discharged.

During the procedure in which the fluid is outwardly discharged via the outlet pipe 3 after passing through the cylindrical sieve 13 and the opened valve 23, the balls 10 are collected near the inlet of the conduit 15 in the interior of the cylindrical sieve 13. When the internal pressure of the fluid storage device 36 is reduced via the drain pipe 4 in accordance with an operation of the pressure reduction device 39 installed at the drain pipe 4, the balls 10 collected near the inlet of the conduit 15 are then fed into the fluid storage device 36 via the opened valve 24 and the opened check valve 25' due to a pressure difference between the ball separating pipe 14 and the conduit 15. Accordingly, the balls 10 are collected in the ball storage section 34 in a state in which they are laid on the sieve 31. Thus, the procedure of removing scales attached to the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11 using the balls 10 is completed. However, the above described conventional cleaning system adapted to clean the interior of the fluid transport pipes arranged in parallel in the condenser has problems in that since the conduit 15 having a diameter smaller than that of the ball separating pipe 14 is centrally mounted to the end wall of the ball separating pipe 14 while being perpendicular to that end wall, it is difficult for the balls 10 to be effectively collected near the inlet of the conduit 15, and to be continuously recovered, thereby causing the balls 10 to be damaged. Furthermore, the fluid storage device 36 should have the fluid storage section 32 for storing the fluid adapted to recover the balls 10 from the ball separating pipe 14, in addition to the ball storage section 34 for storing the recovered balls 10. For this reason, the fluid storage device 36 has a drawback in that it has a considerably large volume. In order to feed the fluid and the balls 10 accumulated on the sieve 31 to the fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11, it is necessary to use the compressor 37 adapted to increase the pressure of the fluid storage device 36 and installed with the tube 38 and the automatic valve 26, along with a pressure reduction device 39 including an automatic valve adapted to reduce the pressure of the compressor 37. Moreover, a considerable amount of fluid is outwardly discharged through the drain pipe 4 in the form of waste water, in order to reduce the pressure of the fluid storage device 36 upon recovering balls to the fluid storage device 36. Due to the provision of the compressor 37 adapted to supply compressed air to the fluid storage device 36 for supplying balls, it may be difficult to practically use the cleaning apparatus. The ball supply and recovery rates may be reduced due to the limited volume of the fluid storage device 36, thereby degrading the efficiency of removing scales attached to the inner surfaces of the fluid transport pipes 1 .

Disclosure of the Invention Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser, and more particularly to an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a shell end tube type condenser, which includes a cylindrical sieve arranged in a ball separating tube and adapted to be used as both an outlet pipe for fluid and a ball recovery pipe, a ball storage tank, and a circulating pump while dispensing with a compressor and a fluid storage device, which are conventionally required, thereby being capable of simplifying the overall configuration, reducing the time and expense required for installation, maintenance, and repair in association with the cleaning of the fluid transport pipes, macroscopically checking the amount of balls stored in the ball storage tank, periodically operating the circulating pump in accordance with a set timer operation, supplying the balls to an inlet pipe in accordance with the operation of the circulating pump, allowing the supplied balls to be naturally circulated by fluid flowing through the inlet pipe, thereby cleaning the fluid transport pipes, reversely rotating the circulating pump to reduce the pressure of a fluid recovery conduit, and recovering the balls collected near a ball outlet into the ball storage tank in accordance with a pressure difference caused by the pressure reduction . in the fluid recovery conduit, so that the balls serving to clean the fluid transport pipe are naturally circulated by the fluid passing through the condenser in accordance with the periodic operation of the circulating pump, thereby efficiently cleaning and maintaining the inner surfaces of the fluid transport pipes.

In accordance with the present invention, this object is accomplished by providing an apparatus for cleaning a plurality of parallel fluid transport pipes in a condenser connected between an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe while serving to cool a fluid passing through the fluid transport pipes, comprising a valve installed at the outlet pipe, a fluid discharge pipe connected to the outlet pipe, a valve installed at the fluid discharge pipe, a fluid supply conduit connected to the inlet pipe, a fluid recovery conduit connected to the outlet pipe while being connected with the fluid supply conduit, a pair of valves respectively installed at the fluid supply and recovery conduits, and a pair of check valves respectively installed at the fluid supply and recovery conduits, further comprising: a ball separating pipe arranged between the outlet pipe and the fluid discharge pipe, the ball separating pipe having a cylindrical sieve arranged in the interior of the ball separating pipe, the cylindrical sieve having a ball outlet connected to the fluid recovery conduit while being gradually reduced in cross-section toward the fluid recovery conduit to have a streamlined structure; a cylindrical ball storage tank connected to a connection between the fluid supply and recovery conduits while extending downwardly from the connection, . the ball storage tank including a ball storage section defined at an upper portion of the ball storage tank and adapted to store balls supplied into the ball storage tank through a ball inlet port provided at the ball storage tank, a side glass provided at a side wall of the ball storage tank and adapted to measure the amount of the supplied balls, and a sieve defining a bottom of the ball storage section while serving to separate the balls from a fluid introduced into the ball storage tank; a circulation conduit connected at one end thereof to the bottom of the ball storage tank by flanges while being connected at the other end thereof to the inlet pipe; a filter installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to filter scales detached from the fluid transport pipes, thereby removing those scales; a circulating pump installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to circulate the fluid serving to feed the balls; and a valve installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to open and close the circulation conduit .

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser;

Fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a procedure for cleaning the fluid transport pipes of the condenser using balls using the cleaning apparatus of Fig. 2 ; Fig. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a procedure for collecting balls in a ball separating pipe in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a fluid outlet pipe is connected to a circulating pump via a conduit; and

Figs. 6a to 6c are schematic views respectively illustrating different connecting structures of the circulating pump installed beneath a ball storage tank.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Now, the present invention will be described with reference to Figs . 2 to 6.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a condenser in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a procedure for cleaning the fluid transport pipes of the condenser using balls using the cleaning apparatus of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a procedure for collecting balls in a ball separating pipe in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a cleaning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a fluid outlet pipe is connected to a circulating pump via a conduit. Figs. 6a to 6c are schematic views respectively illustrating different connecting structures of the circulating pump installed beneath a ball storage tank. In Figs. 6a to 6c, the reference numerals 42A and 42B denote inlet and outlet portions of the circulating pump, respectively. Also, the reference numerals 45A and 45B denote switching valves, respectively.

Referring to Fig. 2, a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. As shown in Fig. 2, a condenser 11 is connected to an inlet pipe 2 adapted to receive a fluid. The condenser 11 is provided with a plurality of parallel fluid transport pipes 12, through which the fluid flows. Operating fluid passages 12' for an operating fluid such as cooling gas are defined among the fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11. An outlet pipe 3 is connected to the condenser 11 opposite to the inlet pipe 2. A valve 21 is installed in the outlet pipe 3.

A fluid discharge pipe 3' is connected at an inlet thereof to the outlet pipe 3 of the condenser 11 via a valve 27. Another valve 28 is installed at the outlet of the fluid discharge pipe 3'.

A ball separating pipe 8 is connected at one end thereof to the fluid discharge pipe 3 ' . Another fluid discharge pipe 6 is connected to the other end of the ball separating pipe 8. A cylindrical sieve 13 is arranged in the ball separating pipe 8 in such a fashion that its inlet is connected to the fluid discharge pipe 3'. The cylindrical sieve 13 has a ball outlet 5 downwardly curved while being gradually reduced in cross- section. That is, the ball outlet 5 has a streamlined structure. The ball outlet 5 can be adjusted in level so as to efficiently feed the balls 10. A conduit 18 is connected at one end thereof to the inlet pipe 2. Another conduit 19 is connected at one end thereof to the other end of the conduit 18. The ball outlet 5 of the cylindrical sieve 13 is connected to the other end of the conduit 19. A valve 24 and a check valve 24' are installed at the conduit 19, whereas a valve 25 and a check valve 25' are installed at the conduit 18.

A cylindrical ball storage tank 30 is connected to a joint between the conduits 18 and 19 while extending downwardly from the joint. The ball storage tank 30 includes a ball storage section 40 defined at an upper portion of the ball storage tank 30 and adapted to store balls 10 supplied into the ball storage tank 30 through a ball inlet port 35, a side glass 39 provided at the side wall of the ball storage tank 30 and adapted to measure the amount of the supplied balls 10, and a sieve 31 defining the bottom of the ball storage section 40 while serving to separate the balls 10 from the fluid introduced into the ball storage tank 30.

As shown in Fig. 2, a conduit 16 is connected at one end thereof to the bottom of the ball storage tank 30 by flanges 43. The other end of the conduit 16 is connected to the inlet pipe 2. Thus, the ball storage tank 30 is connected to the inlet pipe 2 via the conduit 16. A filter 41 is installed at the conduit 16 in order to filter scales detached from the fluid transport pipes 12, thereby removing those scales. A circulating pump 42 is also installed at the conduit 16 in order to normally or reversely circulate fluid between the inlet pipe 2 and the ball storage tank 30 in accordance with its automatic operations activated by a timer (not shown) . A valve 54 is installed at the conduit 16 between the inlet pipe 2 and the circulating pump 42. Alternatively, the ball storage tank 30 may be connected to the fluid discharge pipe 6, as shown in Fig. 5. Also, the valve 54 for opening and closing the fluid path of the conduit 16, and the circulating pump 42 may be installed to have various connections, as shown in Figs. 6a to 6c.

The operation of the cleaning apparatus having the above described configuration to clean fluid transport pipes in a condenser in accordance with the present invention will be described in conjunction with Figs. 2 to 5, and Figs. 6a to 6c.

In the operating state of the condenser 11, the valves 27 and 28 respectively installed at the outlet pipe 3 and fluid discharge pipe 6 are in their opened states. Also, the valves 25 and 24 respectively installed at the fluid supply conduit 18 and fluid recovery conduit 19 are in their opened states. Fluid externally introduced into the inlet pipe 2 flows continuously through the parallel fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11 toward the ball separating pipe 8. Simultaneously, operating fluid is introduced into the condenser 11 through the head inlet 7 formed at the top of the condenser 11, and then discharged into the head outlet 9 via the operating fluid passages 12' . As the operating fluid passes through the condenser 11, it exchanges heat with the fluid passing through the fluid transport pipes 12. The heat- exchanged fluid is discharged through the fluid discharge pipe 6.

As fluid flows continuously through the fluid transport pipes 12 in the condenser 11, scales are attached to the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12. Where the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12 installed in parallel in the condenser 11 are to be cleaned in order to remove scales attached thereto, the circulating pump 42 is first driven to rotate in a normal direction, in accordance with an operation of a timer (not shown) . As the circulating pump 42 rotates normally, it generates a suction pressure, so that the fluid flowing through the inlet pipe 2 is sucked into the circulating pump 42 because the valve 54 is in its opened state. The sucked fluid is then introduced into the ball storage tank 30 after passing through the filter 41. That is, the fluid is introduced into the ball storage section 40, so that it pushes balls ^* 10 toward the conduits 18 and 19. At this time, the balls 10 are prevented from moving through the fluid recovery conduit 19 by the check valve 24' , whereas they - are allowed to move through the fluid supply conduit 18 through the check valve 25 ' and the opened valve 25. Accordingly, the balls 10 reach the inlet pipe 2 via the fluid supply conduit 18. Once the balls 10 reach the inlet pipe 2, the circulating motor 42 is stopped. In the stopped state of the circulating motor 42, the balls 10 reaching the inlet pipe 2 are introduced into the condenser 11 by virtue of the fluid flowing through the inlet pipe 2, so that they pass through the fluid transport pipes

12. As the balls pass through the fluid transport pipes 12 , they remove scales attached to the inner walls of the fluid transport pipes 12. After removing scales, the balls 10 are smoothly introduced into the ball separating pipe 8 along with the fluid after passing through the opened valve 27 installed at the outlet pipe 3. The fluid introduced in the ball separating pipe 8 is filtered by the cylindrical sieve 13 while passing through pores formed at the cylindrical sieve

13 , and then outwardly discharged through the fluid discharge pipe 6.

Meanwhile, the balls 10 are collected near the ball outlet 5 of the cylindrical sieve 13 arranged in the ball separating pipe 8, as shown in Fig. 10. In this state, when the circulating pump 42 is reversely rotated in response to an operation of the timer (not shown) , it generates a suction force, which is in turn applied to the fluid existing in the fluid recovery conduit 19. By this suction force, the balls 10 collected in the cylindrical sieve 13 are smoothly introduced into the fluid recovery conduit 19 through the ball outlet 5 having a streamlined structure. The balls 10 are then introduced into the ball storage section 40 of the ball storage device 30 after passing though the opened valve 24 and the check valve 24' installed at the fluid recovery conduit 19. Thus, the balls 10 are accumulated on the sieve 31 in the ball storage section 40.

Simultaneously, the fluid existing in the ball separating pipe 8 may flow reversely toward the circulating pump 42 in accordance with the reverse rotation of the circulating pump 42. The reversely flowing fluid is filtered by the filter 41 to remove scales contained therein. The filtered fluid sequentially passes through the conduit 16, inlet pipe 2, condenser 11, outlet pipe 3, opened valve 27, and ball separating pipe 8. The fluid introduced into the ball separating pipe 8 is outwardly discharged through the fluid discharge pipe 6 after passing through the pores of the cylindrical sieve 13. The operation of the circulating pump 42 is periodically carried out in accordance with a set operation of the timer (not shown) . The fluid for circulating the balls 10 flows in a normal or reverse direction in accordance with the operation of the circulating pump 42 , so that it is introduced into or discharged from the cleaning apparatus. The operating time of the circulating pump 42 is adjustable in accordance with the amount of accumulated balls 10. The flow rate of fluid and the amount of supplied balls 10 are determined by the operating time of the circulating pump 42. Accordingly, it is possible to collect all balls 10 in the ball separating pipe 8, and then to store them in the ball storage tank 30 by appropriately adjusting the amount of supplied fluid in accordance with an adjusted drive time of the circulating pump 42. Also, all balls 10 stored in the ball storage tank 30 can be completely supplied into the condenser 11 by appropriately adjusting the amount of supplied fluid in accordance with an adjusted drive time of the circulating pump 42. Thus, scales attached to the fluid transport pipes 12 can be efficiently removed. Where the ball storage tank 30, filter 41, and circulating pump 42 are desired to be serviced, it is necessary to close the valves 24 and 25 installed at the fluid supply conduit 18 and the fluid recovery conduit 19, to close the valve 54 installed at the conduit 16, so as to prevent the fluid flowing through the inlet pipe 2 from entering the ball storage tank 30, filter 41, and circulating pump 42. In this state, the ball storage tank 30, filter 41, and^' circulating pump 42 are serviced. Where it is desired to service the ball separating pipe 8 in order to open clogged pores of the cylindrical sieve 13 or to solve other problems involved with the ball separating pipe 8, the valves 27 and 28 installed at the outlet pipe 3 and fluid discharge pipe 6 are closed in order to prevent the fluid in the inlet pipe 2 from being introduced into the ball separating pipe 8 and fluid discharge pipe 6. In this state, the ball separating pipe 8 is separated by releasing flanges mounted at both ends of the ball separating pipe 8. Thus, the cylindrical sieve 13 received in the ball separating pipe 8 can be cleaned or serviced. In order to completely recover all balls 10 from the ball separating pipe 8, there are several requirements. That is, the total cross-sectional area of the fluid transport pipes 12 should be equal to the cross-sectional area of the outlet pipe 3 and the cross-sectional area of the fluid discharge pipe 6 in order to maintain a stable flow of fluid. It is also necessary to maintain little or no pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the cylindrical sieve 13. When there is little or no pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the cylindrical sieve 13, it is possible to prevent the balls 10 from being attached to the inner wall surface of the cylindrical sieve 13, or from being worn. In order to maintain an optimum movement condition of the balls 10 and a stable flow of the fluid serving to move the balls 10, it is required for the outlet pipe 3 and fluid discharge pipe 6 arranged at opposite ends of the ball separating pipe 8 to have the same cross-sectional area. Preferably, the cylindrical sieve 13 has a cross-sectional area as large as possible. Also, the cylindrical sieve 13 preferably has a sufficient total opening area corresponding to 2 to 4 times the cross-sectional area thereof. In accordance with the present invention, the ball outlet 5 has a structure adjustable in level to be at an upper, intermediate, or lower level, taking into consideration the amount of balls 10 collected near the ball outlet 5 in accordance with a flow of fluid. When the pressure of the fluid recovery conduit 19 is less than the pressure of the conduit 16 in accordance with the operation of the circulating pump 42, a sufficient vortex flow is formed, thereby completely recovering the balls 10 from the ball separating pipe 8.

The amount of supplied balls and the amount of recovered balls are adjustable in accordance with the amount of supplied fluid and the amount of discharged fluid controlled by the operation of the circulating pump 42, respectively. As described above, this operation of the circulating pump 42 is controlled by the timer. The fluid circulated by rotation of the circulating pump 42 varies the movement of balls 10 in accordance with variations in its flow rate and pressure . This fluid flow can be adjusted by appropriately controlling the operating period of the circulating pump 42 in accordance with conditions associated with collection and movement of balls in the ball separating pipe 8, formation of a turbulent flow near the ball outlet, and recovery of balls.

Industrial Applicability

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides an apparatus for cleaning fluid transport pipes in a shell end tube type condenser, which includes a cylindrical sieve arranged in a ball separating tube and adapted to be used as both an outlet pipe for fluid and a ball recovery pipe, a ball storage tank, and a circulating pump while dispensing with a compressor and a fluid storage device, which are conventionally required, thereby being capable of simplifying the overall configuration, reducing the time and expense required for installation, maintenance, and repair in association with the cleaning of the fluid transport pipes, macroscopically checking the amount of balls stored in the ball storage tank, periodically operating the circulating pump in accordance with a set timer operation, supplying the balls to an inlet pipe in accordance with the operation of the circulating pump, allowing the supplied balls to be naturally circulated by fluid flowing through the inlet pipe, thereby cleaning the fluid transport pipes, reversely rotating the circulating pump to reduce the pressure of a fluid recovery conduit, and recovering the balls collected near a ball outlet into the ball storage tank in accordance with a pressure difference caused by the pressure reduction in the fluid recovery conduit, so that the balls serving to clean the fluid transport pipe are naturally circulated by the fluid passing through the condenser in accordance with the periodic operation of the circulating pump, thereby efficiently cleaning and maintaining the inner surfaces of the fluid transport pipes .

Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning a plurality of parallel fluid transport pipes in a condenser connected between an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe while serving to cool a fluid passing through the fluid transport pipes, comprising a valve installed at the outlet pipe, a fluid discharge pipe connected to the outlet pipe, a valve installed at the fluid discharge pipe, a fluid supply conduit connected to the inlet pipe, a fluid recovery conduit connected to the outlet pipe while being connected with the fluid supply conduit, a pair of valves respectively installed at the fluid supply and recovery conduits, and a pair of check valves- respectively installed at the fluid supply and recovery conduits, further comprising: a ball separating pipe arranged between the outlet pipe and the fluid discharge pipe, the ball separating pipe having a cylindrical sieve arranged in the interior of the ball separating pipe, the cylindrical sieve having a ball outlet connected to the fluid recovery conduit while being gradually reduced in cross-section toward the fluid recovery conduit to have a streamlined structure; a cylindrical ball storage tank connected to a connection between the fluid supply and recovery conduits while extending downwardly from the connection, the ball storage tank including a ball storage section defined at an upper portion of the ball storage tank and adapted to store balls supplied into the ball storage tank through a ball inlet port provided at the ball storage tank, a side glass provided at a side wall of the ball storage tank and adapted to measure the amount of the supplied balls, and a sieve defining a bottom of the ball storage section while serving to separate the balls from a fluid introduced into the ball storage tank; a circulation conduit connected at one end thereof to the bottom of the ball storage tank by flanges while being connected at the other end thereof to the inlet pipe; a filter installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to filter scales detached from the fluid transport pipes, thereby removing those scales; a circulating pump installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to circulate the fluid serving to feed the balls; and a valve installed at the circulation conduit and adapted to open and close the circulation conduit .