초록 ▼

A furnace heat exchanger tube cleaning apparatus is described. The furnace comprises a combustion chamber for generating heated gases including combustion products, a water jacket containing a liquid to be heated and including heat exchanger tubes passing therethrough and a flue for discharge of the

A furnace heat exchanger tube cleaning apparatus is described. The furnace comprises a combustion chamber for generating heated gases including combustion products, a water jacket containing a liquid to be heated and including heat exchanger tubes passing therethrough and a flue for discharge of the combustion products. In operation, the heated gases including combustion products flow from the combustion chamber along the heat exchanger tubes to the flue. As the heated gases pass along the heat exchanger tubes, heat from the heated gases is transferred to the liquid in the container, thereby heating the liquid. The efficiency of heat transfer is increased by helical flights arranged to depend downward into the respective heat exchanger tubes from a support structure. Specifically, the flights create turbulence in the flow of the heated gases, thereby improving heat transfer. However, over time, soot and other combustion products deposit along the heat exchanger tubes, which will decrease heat transfer efficiency. In this arrangement, the heat exchanger tubes can be cleaned by raising and lowering the support structure such that the flights scrape and clean the heat exchanger tubes.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] A boiler apparatus comprising:a boiler housing;a combustion chamber in the boiler housing for generating heated gases including combustion products;a flue connected to the boiler housing for discharge of the combustion products;a container in the boiler housing for receiving a liqui

[ I claim:] [1.] A boiler apparatus comprising:a boiler housing;a combustion chamber in the boiler housing for generating heated gases including combustion products;a flue connected to the boiler housing for discharge of the combustion products;a container in the boiler housing for receiving a liquid material to be heated;a plurality of vertical tubes passing through the container and extending from the combustion chamber to the flue for receiving the heated gases and combustion products and communicating heat from the heated gases to the liquid material, said tubes each having an inner surface over which the heated gases and combustion products pass and an outer surface in communication with the liquid material;each tube having therein a flight arranged to create turbulence in the flow of the heated gases, thereby increasing heat transfer from the heated gases inner surface of the tube, the flight consisting of a strip of rigid material which extends across the tube and which is helically twisted to define outside flight edges;said helically twisted flight and said outside flight edges thereof being arranged such that the outside flight edges define a sliding fit with the inner surface of the respective tube and thus forming a contact with the inner surface of the tube;a first lifting frame structure attached to a first plurality of the flights and a second lifting frame structure attached to a second plurality of the flights, the first lifting frame being arranged for simultaneously causing longitudinal vertical sliding movement of each of the first plurality of flights relative to the respective tube from an operating position to a raised position and back to the operating position and the second lifting frames being arranged for simultaneously causing longitudinal vertical sliding movement of each of the second plurality of flights relative to the respective tube from an operating position to a raised position and back to the operating position, the contact of the outside edges of the strip and the movement thereof effecting a scraping of the inner surface to remove combustion products deposited on the inner surface by the heated gases; anda first lift actuating assembly for lifting the first lifting frame structure;and a second lift actuating assembly for lifting the second lifting frame structure independently of the first.