Product Details

I. Overview:

The gel ball cleaning unit is a device used to effectively clean the condenser cooling tubes of steam turbine generators during operation. The performance of this unit directly impacts the cleanliness of the condenser and its heat transfer efficiency. The application range of this unit is quite extensive, as it is not only suitable for condensers of steam turbines but also for cooling tube cleaning in fixed tube plate heat exchangers in the oil, chemical, and other industries. Under continuous operation without reducing load, the unit can be put into use at any time, maintaining the cleanliness of the cooling tubes, extending their service life, reducing labor intensity, and is an indispensable device for improving the economic benefits of power plants and ensuring the safe operation of condensers.

Our factory's rubber ball device is the updated and upgraded version of other rubber ball cleaning devices currently available. The main components, the secondary filter and the ball collection net, come in two current types. It features the following characteristics:

1. Innovative and rational design structure; 2. Easy to operate; 3. High gel ball recovery rate (≥96%); 4. Strong secondary filter efficiency.

Section II: Spherical Ball Cleaning System Diagram

The rubber ball cleaning system consists of a secondary filter, ball collection net, ball filling room, rubber ball pump, separator, valves, pipelines, and electrical control equipment.

Section 3: Working Principle:

Select appropriate sponge rubber balls, with a wet diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the cooling tube (about 1-2mm) and a wet specific gravity similar to water. Place the rubber balls into the ball chamber through the handhole, with a quantity approximately 10% of the copper tube count in the condenser water chamber. Then, start the ball pump and open the ball valves at both ends of the system. The balls will be carried into the condenser water chamber by the water flow at a slightly higher pressure at the circulation water inlet. As the rubber balls are a soft, elastic material with many micropores, they are compressed through the cooling tubes under the pressure difference between the circulation water in and out. This action cleans the inner wall of the tubes by removing dirt with the water flow. The balls then enter the collection net through the outlet pipe, where they are separated by the grid of the collection net and pumped back to the ball chamber by the ball pump, thus continuously and automatically cleaning the condenser cooling tubes in a cyclic manner.

IV. Components of the Gel Ball Cleaning Unit:

1. Secondary Filter: The secondary filter is one of the main equipment components of the cooling water purification system. It removes all debris larger than 6mm, playing a crucial role in ensuring the smooth flow of rubber balls and the normal operation of the condenser. For detailed working parameters and other information, refer to the "New Electrically Operated Rotating Jet Secondary Filter" manual.

2. Ball Catching Net: The ball catching net is a crucial component of the rubber ball cleaning system, installed on the condenser outlet pipe section. Its function is to separate rubber balls from the cooling water, ensuring no ball leakage or jamming. After the balls are collected, they are led out through a conduit from the catching net and returned to the ball loading room. Our factory's ball catching net features the current structural design, with its grate plate being rotatable. During the operation of the rubber ball device, the grate plate is in the ball collection position. When the cleaning device is not in use, the grate plate can rotate to a position aligned with the water flow, reducing water resistance and also serving to clear debris from the grate plate.

The rotation positioning of the mesh board is executed by an electric actuator (for the small ball-catching net, manual control is applied). The presence or absence of the mesh board in place is a crucial factor in ensuring the ball-catching efficiency of the net.

3. Ball Loading Room

The ball loading room is a device in the胶球 cleaning system for adding, retrieving, storing balls, and observing the ball circulation. It is divided into Type I and II based on the storage capacity of the balls, and into electric and manual types according to the user's requirements. When the switch valve controlling the operation status of the ball loading room is set to the "ball in" position, the balls can freely and continuously circulate within the system. When the switch valve is set to the "ball out" position, the balls are blocked within the ball loading room, while the cooling water can still pass through, ensuring that all balls introduced into the circulation return to the ball loading room.

4. Spherical ball pump

The rubber ball pump is the power source that drives the continuous circulation of rubber balls in the rubber ball cleaning system. The water flow of the dense balls extracted from the ball collection net is pressurized after passing through the rubber balls and then sent into the cooling water pipes. This pump is a fixed, trouble-free centrifugal pump with features such as no ball clogging, no ball breaking, and minimal ball wear. Different rubber ball pumps with varying parameter specifications are selected based on different operating conditions. For small condensers and heat exchanger systems, a low-flow pump should be chosen to reduce hot water backflow; for systems with long rubber ball conveying pipelines and significant resistance loss, a high-head pump should be selected to ensure the normal circulation of the balls.

5. Operation Control Cabinet (CGK-Ⅱ)

(1) Employed with an HMI touch screen control, it's more advanced and rational with a low failure rate. (HMI human-machine interface touch screen and PLC)

(2) Achieve precise location control for more accurate and thorough detection, ensuring a high recovery rate for the balls. The entire process is automated. Single-cable long-distance control (operation and monitoring) is achievable.

6. Separator Valve

A diverter valve is a three-way (pipe) valve. By switching the guide plates, it allows the ball to enter the condenser on the side that needs cleaning. It can also be used as a three-way pipe for the convergence of the ball collection net outlet pipes and the divergence of the ball intake pipes.

V. Installation Instructions and Precautions:

Prior to commissioning the rubber ball cleaning unit, first thoroughly clean the hard scale inside the condenser water chamber and copper tube walls, and replace any copper tubes with cracks or diameter deformation one by one to ensure the smooth passage of rubber balls.

(2) Seal off all dead corners of the condenser one by one to prevent the ball from hiding, which may affect the cleaning effect and the recovery rate of the ball.

(3) The system pipeline layout should be simple, short, and straight, with as few elbows as possible.

(4) Select the ball pump reasonably; ensure it has sufficient flow rate, and the outlet pressure should be slightly higher than the circulating water pressure (about 0.02 MPa or more).

(5) Regularly check the number of rubber balls in the ball chamber and continuously replenish them to meet cleaning requirements.

(6) Regularly check the recovery rate, such as: if the recovery rate is too low, investigate the following three aspects.

Is the ball catch grid panel in the ball catch position and properly seated?

b. Is there any debris in the condenser water chamber, blocking the cooling tube openings, and hindering the passage of the rubber balls?

c. Is the ball pump outlet pressure normal?