Product Details

I. Overview:

The ball cleaner is a device used to effectively clean the condenser cooling tubes of a steam turbine generator set during operation. The performance of this device directly impacts the cleanliness of the condenser and its heat transfer efficiency. Its application range is quite extensive, covering not only condensers of steam turbines but also cooling tubes of fixed tube sheet heat exchangers in the oil, chemical, and other industries. Operating continuously without reducing load, this device can be put into use at any time, maintaining the cleanliness of the cooling tubes, extending their service life, reducing labor intensity, and is essential for enhancing the economic benefits of power plants and ensuring the safe operation of condensers.

Our factory's ball cleaner is a replacement product for other ball cleaning devices on the market. 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 collection rate (≥96%); 4. Strong secondary filter efficiency.

Section II: Gel Ball Cleaning System Diagram

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

III. Working Principle:

Select the appropriate sponge rubber balls, which are slightly larger in diameter when wet (about 1-2mm) than the inner diameter of the cooling tubes, and have a wet specific gravity similar to water. Place the balls into the ball room through the handhole, with a quantity of approximately 10% of the number of copper tubes in the condenser feed 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, which is slightly higher in pressure at the cycle water inlet. As the balls are soft, elastic, and porous, they are compressed through the cooling tubes under the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the circulating water. This action cleans the inner walls of the tubes by removing dirt along with the water flow. The balls then enter the collection net through the outlet pipe, where they are separated by the plate of the collection net. They are subsequently pumped out by the ball pump and returned to the ball room, repeating this cycle to achieve continuous and automatic cleaning of the condenser cooling tubes.

IV. Components of the Gel Ball Cleaning Device:

1. Secondary Filter: The secondary filter is one of the main equipment in the cooling water purification system, effectively removing all debris larger than 6mm. It plays 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 manual for "New Type Electrically Rotating Backwash Secondary Filter."

2. Ball Collector: The ball collector is a crucial component in the rubber ball cleaning system, installed on the condenser outlet pipe section. Its function is to separate the rubber balls from the cooling water, and it must be capable of not leaking or jamming balls. After the balls are collected, they are guided out through a conduit from the collector and returned to the ball-loading room. Our factory's ball collector features the current structural design, with its grid plate being rotatable. During the operation of the rubber ball unit, the grid plate is positioned for ball collection. When the cleaning unit is not in use, the grid plate can rotate to align with the water flow direction, reducing water resistance and also serving to clear debris from the grid plate.

The rotation and positioning of the mesh plate are executed by an electric actuator (the small ball collection net is manually controlled). Whether the mesh plate is in place is a crucial factor in ensuring the collection efficiency of the ball collection 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 balls, and into electric and manual types according to user requirements. When the switch valve controlling the ball loading room operation is placed in the "ball in" position, balls can freely and continuously circulate within the system. When the switch valve is set to the "ball out" position, balls are blocked within the loading room, but the cooling water can still pass through, ensuring that all balls in circulation return to the 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 from the ball collection net, after passing through the rubber balls, increases the pressure head and is sent into the cooling water pipes. This pump is a fixed, trouble-free centrifugal pump, featuring non-blocking, non-crushing of balls, and minimal wear on the balls. Depending on different operating conditions, different parameter specifications of rubber ball pumps are selected. 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) Utilizes advanced HMI touch screen control for superior operation and low failure rate. (HMI human-machine interface touch screen and PLC)

(2) Achieve precise location control for enhanced accuracy and effectiveness, ensuring high recovery rate of the balls. The entire process is automated. Single-cable remote control (operation and monitoring) is feasible.

6. Divertor

The分流器 is a three-way (pipe) valve. By switching the guide plate, the ball can enter the condenser on the side that requires cleaning. It can also be used as a three-way pipe for the convergence of the ball collection net outlet pipes and the分流 of the ball intake pipes.

V. Installation Instructions and Precautions:

Prior to the operation of the rubber ball cleaning device, ensure the condenser water chamber and the inner walls of the copper tubes are thoroughly cleaned of hard scale. Replace any copper tubes with cracks or deformed inner diameters one by one to ensure unobstructed flow of rubber balls.

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

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

(4) Select the ball pump rationally, ensuring it has adequate 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 ball chamber's胶球 inventory and replenish as needed to meet cleaning requirements.

(6) Regularly inspect the ball recovery rate; for instance, if the recovery rate is low, check the following three aspects.

Is the ball receiver grid in the receiving position and properly aligned?

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

c. Is the outlet pressure of the ball pump normal?