INSTALLATION ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR THE AUTOMATED CLEANING OF LAMELLAR HEAT EXCHANGERS

Abstract

A method for the automated cleaning of lamellar heat exchangers and other sensitive surfaces, a moving apparatus, preferably moved on rollers or skids, being moved up and down on a guide unit made up of one and preferably two guide rails, on which a support arm is mounted, on which at least one and preferably multiple spray nozzles are mounted in such a way that they are moved along with the guide unit via the moving apparatus with the aid of an additional drive unit via a roller or toothed wheel mounted on another end, a carrier gas, preferably compressed air, and a liquid, preferably water, as the spray agent being supplied through feed hoses at a pressure of at least 2 bar, the supplied water quantity being less than 1%, preferably less than 0.30%, of the supplied air quantity.

Claims

1. A method for the automated cleaning of lamellar heat exchangers and other sensitive surfaces, the method comprising: moving, a moving apparatus moved on rollers or skids, up and down on a guide unit made up of one or two guide rails, on which a support arm is mounted, on which at least one or multiple spray nozzles are mounted such that they are moved along with the guide unit via the moving apparatus with the aid of an additional drive unit, via a roller or a toothed wheel mounted on another end; and supplying a carrier gas, preferably compressed air, and a liquid, preferably water, as a spray agent through feed hoses at a pressure of at least 2 bar, the supplied water quantity being less than 1% or less than 0.30% of a supplied air quantity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guide unit is connectable to a ladder or bridge unit which is adapted to be rolled or pushed over a length of the heat exchanger.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spray nozzles are fastened to the support arm by a height- and side-adjustable holder.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the entire guide unit, including the ladder or bridge unit, which is adapted to be rolled and/or pushed and/or self-propelled over the length of the heat exchanger, is automatically guided over the surface to be cleaned by a suitable pulling apparatus, preferably a cable pull, via a controller in such a way that the spray nozzles completely clean the entire surface.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressure and quantity of carrier gas and spray agent and the travel speed of the moving apparatus and the guide unit is adapted to be regulated.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one spray nozzle is installed on each of opposite longitudinal sides of the ladder or bridge unit and the lamellar heat exchanger is cleaned in two stages, a first partial surface of the lamellar heat exchanger being cleaned in a first cleaning stage, in that the guide unit is moved in a longitudinal direction of the lamellar heat exchanger at a first speed until the guide unit has moved in the longitudinal direction by a clear distance of the spray nozzles installed on opposite longitudinal sides of the ladder or bridge unit, and in a second cleaning stage, another, second partial surface of the lamellar heat exchanger is cleaned in that the guide unit is moved in the longitudinal direction of the lamellar heat exchanger in a second stage at a second speed, the second speed being higher than the first speed.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein at least individual spray nozzles are deactivated in the first cleaning stage and/or in the second cleaning stage.

8. An installation arrangement comprising: at least one heat exchanger, which includes a lamellar heat exchanger, arranged in a horizontally oriented or vertically oriented manner or inclined at an acute positioning angle with respect to the horizontal; two feed-through surfaces arranged opposite each other; and a plurality of feed-through channels, which are led from a first feed-through surface to a second feed-through surface, including a cleaning device; a guide unit that has at least one guide rail that is disposed to extend in parallel to the first feed-through surface and/or to the second feed-through surface; a moving apparatus guided on the guide rail, which includes a support arm with at least one spray nozzle mounted on the support arm, which is oriented such that a spray agent emerging from the spray nozzle strikes the feed-through surface of the lamellar heat exchanger facing the spray nozzle at an angle of 20 with respect to a surface normal; a drive unit for moving the moving apparatus along the guide rail; and a feed apparatus, which includes at least one feed hose for the spray medium supplied to the spray nozzle, which provides a carrier gas and a small quantity of liquid supplied by the carrier gas as the spray agent; and a controller for controlling the movement of the moving apparatus and/or a quantity throughput for the spray medium, the guide unit, together with the moving apparatus fixed on the guide unit being movably provided in a longitudinal direction of the lamellar heat exchanger, and the controller controlling the movement of the moving apparatus such that the spray medium passes through all feed-through channels of the lamellar heat exchanger.

9. The installation arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the heat exchanger is a V-type heat exchanger device or an inverted V-type heat exchanger, comprising two lamellar heat exchangers installed at an acute positioning angle with respect to each other.

10. The installation arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the guide unit is fixed on a ladder or bridge unit, which is adapted to be pushed in a longitudinal direction of the lamellar heat exchanger, the guide rail of the guide unit extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the lamellar heat exchanger.

11. The installation arrangement according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of spray nozzles are provided on the moving apparatus, and wherein at least one spray nozzle is installed on opposite longitudinal sides of the ladder or bridge unit.

12. The installation arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the controller is designed to carry out the method according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a perspective schematic view of an installation arrangement;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal side view of the installation arrangement according to FIG. 1;

[0029] FIG. 3 shows an end face view of the installation arrangement according to FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged representation of a detail X according to FIG. 3;

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a front view of a cleaning device of the installation arrangement according to FIG. 1;

[0032] FIG. 6 shows an rear view of the installation arrangement according to FIG. 5;

[0033] FIG. 7 shows an longitudinal side view of the cleaning device according to FIG. 5;

[0034] FIG. 8 shows a top view of the cleaning device according to FIG. 5; and

[0035] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the installation arrangement according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] An installation arrangement according to the invention according to FIGS. 1 through 3 comprises an inverted V-type heat exchanger device, which includes two lamellar heat exchangers 13 installed at an acute positioning angle 11 with respect to the horizontal and an acute positioning angle 12 with respect to each other. Lamellar heat exchangers 13 have two feed-through surfaces 14, 15, situated opposite each other, as well as a large number of feed-through channels 16, which are led from a first feed-through surface 14 to a second feed-through surface 15. Lamellar heat exchangers 13 are used, for example, to cool an air flow conducted through them.

[0037] An accessibility of the lamellar heat exchangers 13 is provided, on the one hand, by horizontally extending webs 17 and, on the other hand, by a ladder or bridge unit 3. Ladder or bridge unit 3 covers lamellar heat exchangers 13 in the area of first feed-through surface 14. It is movably disposed in a longitudinal direction 18 of lamellar heat exchangers 13 and is preferably guided via a guide in the area of webs 17.

[0038] A guide unit 9, which includes two guide rails 1 disposed in parallel and at a distance from each other, is fixed on ladder or bridge unit 3. Guide unit 9 carries a moving apparatus 10, which is supported on guide unit 9, for example via rollers 4, and is movable in a longitudinally slidable manner along guide rails 1 of guide unit 9. Moving apparatus 10 is moved along guide rails 1 via a drive unit 2, a traction mechanism (cable pull, chain pull, toothed belt, toothed rod or the like) and a deflecter (roller or toothed wheel 8). Spray nozzles 6 are fixed on moving apparatus 10. A support arm 5 and a holder 7 for the height and lateral adjustment of spray nozzles 6, which extends, for example horizontally, is used to fix spray nozzles 6.

[0039] A spray medium is provided with the aid of spray nozzles 6 for cleaning lamellar heat exchangers 13. The orientation of spray nozzles 6 is provided in such a way that the spray medium perpendicularly strikes first feed-through surface 14 of lamellar heat exchangers 13 and passes through feed-through channel 16; cf. FIG. 4. Since spray nozzles 6 in the present exemplary embodiment of the invention are comparatively long and are therefore unable to be positioned between ladder or bridge unit 3, on the one hand, and feed-through surface 14, on the other hand, they are preferably installed adjacent to ladder or bridge unit 3. A carrier gas, preferably compressed air, which is provided at at least 2 bar, is used as the spray medium, as well as a liquid as the spray agent, which is supplied to the carrier gas. Water, for example, is used as the liquid. The quantity of liquid supplied is less than 1% and preferably less than 0.3% of the supplied carrier gas quantity.

[0040] The spray medium is supplied via a feed apparatus, which includes at least one feed hose 19 and preferably a plurality of feed hoses 19. For example, the carrier gas and the spray agent may be supplied via separate feed hoses 19 or be mixed prior to feeding and be conducted to spray nozzle 6 via a shared feed hose 19. Separate feed hoses 19 are provided for each spray nozzle 6. Feed hoses 19 are guided via a cable carrier 20 in the area of guide rails 1.

[0041] Guide unit 9, including guide rails 1, moving apparatus 10 as well as the feed apparatus having the at least one feed hose 19 belong to a cleaning device of the installation arrangement according to the invention. The cleaning device is illustrated with respect to essential details in FIGS. 5 through 8. In the present case, the cleaning device provides a total of five spray nozzles 6, which are installed in two groups 21, 22 on opposite longitudinal sides 23, 24 of ladder or bridge unit 3. A clear distance 25 between groups 21, 22 is selected in such a way that ladder or bridge unit 3 is disposed between groups 21, 22. For this purpose, the cleaning device provides fastener 26, which are used to fix guide rails 1.

[0042] The three spray nozzles 6 belonging to first group 21 are disposed upstream from the two spray nozzles 6 belonging to second group 22 with regard to a traversing direction of ladder or bridge unit 3 in longitudinal direction 18 of lamellar heat exchangers 13.

[0043] A cleaning of lamellar heat exchanger 13 with the aid of the cleaning device takes place according to the invention in such a way that moving apparatus 10, including spray nozzles 6, is moved via guide unit 9 with ladder or bridge unit 3 in longitudinal direction 18 of lamellar heat exchanger 13, and moving apparatus 10 is additionally moved up and down perpendicularly to longitudinal direction 18 along first feed-through surface 14. The cleaning method preferably takes place in two stages in such a way that, in a first cleaning stage, a first partial surface of lamellar heat exchanger 13 is cleaned at a low first speed. The first cleaning stage continues to run until spray nozzles 6 of second group 22 of spray nozzles 6 is moved in the longitudinal direction by clear distance 25 of groups 21, 22 of spray nozzles 6. The first cleaning stage is thus used to clean a partial area of lamellar heat exchanger 13 originally assigned to ladder or bridge unit 3. Once the first partial surface of lamellar heat exchanger 13 has been cleaned, spray nozzles 6 of second group 22 may be deactivated, and the remaining second partial surface of lamellar heat exchanger 13 may be cleaned by spray nozzles 6 of first group 21 of spray nozzles 6. The speed of the cleaning may be selected to be higher, due to the larger number of parallel spray nozzles 6. For example, the moving apparatus 10 may be moved continuously along guide rails 1 of guide unit 9. For example, the movement in longitudinal direction 18 of lamellar heat exchangers 13 may take place step by step.

[0044] Spray nozzles 6 are moved along first feed-through surface 14 of lamellar heat exchanger 13 via a controller, which is not illustrated. The controller may be simultaneously provided to control and, in particular, to activate and deactivate spray nozzles 6 and to control or regulate a pressure of the spray medium or a quantity of the spray medium.

[0045] According to an alternative specific embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 9, in a setup of the installation arrangement which is otherwise essentially the same, only a first group 21 including three spray nozzles 6 is provided, which is installed on one side of ladder or bridge unit 3. The second specific embodiment of the installation arrangement is suitable, in particular when ladder or bridge unit 3 may be moved and traversed in very wide areas even outside lamellar heat exchanger 13. In this case, a cleaning of assigned lamellar heat exchanger 13 may take place in one stage.

[0046] According to another specific embodiment of the invention, which is not illustrated, spray nozzles 6 as a whole or at least one group 21, 22 of spray nozzles 6 may be provided on a side of ladder or bridge unit 3 facing away from heat exchanger 13. A cleaning of heat exchanger 13 may then take place particularly easily over the entire traversing distance of ladder or bridge unit 3.

[0047] According to another specific embodiment of the invention, which is not illustrated, the moving apparatus 10 may be moved in a first movement direction by a first drive unit 2 via a first traction mechanism and by a second drive unit 2 via a second traction mechanism. In particular, this approach may be used for horizontally installed heat exchangers 13.

[0048] Identical components and component functions are marked by the same reference numerals.

[0049] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims