Cable-Suspended Rail Cleaning for Vertical Boiler Pipe Deposits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Deposits on the exterior of vertical cooling pipes in waste heat boilers reduce their effectiveness in cooling gases, necessitating a method to efficiently clean and maintain these surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A robot system suspended from cables is used to direct high-pressure fluid jets across substantially vertical surfaces, including cooling pipes, to remove deposits and clean the surfaces effectively, with the robot moving horizontally and vertically to cover the entire area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual cleaning methods are used, then workers can directly remove deposits, but human safety is compromised due to exposure to hazardous contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
A robotic system with remote manipulation capabilities serves as an intermediary between the operator and the hazardous environment. The robot is equipped with specialized tools for deposit removal and can be controlled remotely, allowing cleaning operations to proceed without direct human contact with toxic substances like thallium and arsenic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical cleaning with an automated robotic system. The robot incorporates mechanical arms, specialized nozzles, and automated tools that can remove deposits more effectively and safely, substituting human labor with automated machinery designed for hazardous environment operation.
2Reliability
If deposits build up on cooling pipes, then the boiler structure remains intact, but cooling efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system provides dynamic adaptability in cleaning operations. It can adjust its tools and methods based on the specific conditions of the deposits and pipe surfaces, optimizing the cleaning process to maintain structural integrity while maximizing cooling efficiency recovery. The system can vary pressure, temperature, and mechanical action based on real-time feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs controlled changes in physical parameters during cleaning. By adjusting parameters such as fluid pressure, temperature, and mechanical force applied by the robot, the system can effectively remove deposits of varying hardness and adhesion without damaging the underlying pipe structure, thus maintaining reliability while restoring productivity.
3Productivity
If high-pressure fluid is applied to vertical surfaces, then deposit removal is enhanced, but fluid consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system applies high-pressure fluid locally and precisely where deposits are present, rather than blanket treatment of entire surfaces. The robot can target specific areas, adjust spray patterns, and concentrate fluid application on contaminated zones, thereby maintaining high deposit removal efficiency while minimizing overall fluid consumption through localized treatment.
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
The method and apparatus effectively clean and scarify vertical surfaces, restoring the efficiency of the waste heat boilers by removing deposits and improving heat transfer, while collecting and managing waste water and materials.
Implementation Method 1
directing high pressure fluid against a substantially vertical surface for the purpose of cleaning or scarifying the surface
Data Source
AI summary
A method of and apparatus for cleaning a surface, such as a wall of a waste boiler of a Kivcet furnace, are described. The invention comprises suspending a pair of spaced apart cables adjacent a surface to be cleaned, attaching ends of the rail to respective ones of the cables with equal lengths of cable between the rail and the roof, the rail being reversibly moveable up and down the surface. A carriage has a nozzle assembly, operative to emit a jet of water, with the carriage reversibly moveable along the rail. The rail is moved from one of a top and bottom of the surface to another of the top and bottom of the surface, and the carriage is moved from one side of the rail to another, cleaning the surface as it moves. The foregoing steps are repeated for each remaining uncleaned surface.