Plate Heat Exchanger Cleaning via Reverse Gas Flow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Plate heat exchangers used in cooling process gases, such as in cable production, face issues with impurities causing channel blockages and reduced cooling efficiency due to residue accumulation, necessitating frequent disassembly and laborious cleaning, which disrupts continuous production.
Innovation Solution
A movable piston mechanism within the inlet channel of the heat exchanger creates a blockage and connects to a space with negative pressure for instantaneous gas discharge and cleaning blasts, allowing for cleaning during operation without disassembly, using a combination of gas and hot water or vapor to efficiently remove residues from the slots between plates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If plate heat exchanger operates continuously to cool process gas, then productivity is improved, but impurities accumulate on plate surfaces and block channels causing cooling efficiency to deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic reverse flow cleaning cycles where the gas flow direction is temporarily reversed to create strong turbulence and discharge accumulated impurities from the channels and plate surfaces. This periodic action restores cooling efficiency without requiring continuous shutdown, resolving the contradiction between continuous production and maintaining cooling performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the process gas itself as the cleaning medium by reversing its flow direction. The high-velocity reverse flow of the process gas automatically removes accumulated impurities from the heat exchanger channels and plates, eliminating the need for external cleaning systems or shutdowns for maintenance.
2Ease of manufacture
If heat exchanger is disassembled for cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but production must be shut down and assembly time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The reverse flow cleaning mechanism allows cleaning to occur during continuous operation without disassembly. The system maintains uninterrupted production by performing cleaning cycles inline, eliminating both disassembly and shutdown time while achieving effective removal of impurities through high-velocity reverse flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The process gas acts as an intermediary cleaning agent that delivers the cleaning action through reverse flow. Instead of requiring direct human intervention or external cleaning equipment, the process gas itself mediates the cleaning function, enabling effective cleaning without production interruption.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If high-pressure water cleaning is used on disassembled plates, then cleaning power is improved, but labor intensity and complexity of reassembly increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cleaning function from the mechanical disassembly process and implements it through fluid dynamics. By using reverse flow of process gas to generate high-velocity turbulence, the cleaning power previously requiring high-pressure water and manual disassembly is achieved through a simpler, integrated fluid-based mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pneumatic principles by utilizing the kinetic energy of the process gas flow in reverse direction to create high-velocity jets that remove impurities. This replaces the need for hydraulic high-pressure water systems and manual cleaning operations, reducing complexity while maintaining effective residue removal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous and efficient cleaning of the heat exchanger during operation, preventing residue buildup and maintaining steady gas flow, allowing for extended production periods without shutdowns and reducing maintenance time.
Implementation Method 1
opening a connection from said slots to a space having negative pressure in relation to the pressure in the heat exchanger
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6
AI summary
An arrangement for keeping a plate heat exchanger clean in cooling of gas (G1) is characterised in that for carrying out a cleaning action in one or more slots (S7, S8) between the plates (3) it comprises in the inlet channel (6) movable first means (17, 20) for forming a block (38, 39) between said slots (S7, S8) and the inlet channel and opening a connection (18, 20) from said slots to a space having negative pressure in relation to the pressure in the heat exchanger for generating an instantaneous discharge (G3) of gas and cleaning blast from said slots and respectively closing said connection and opening said block, and additionally second means for controlling moving of the first means and the cleaning action.