Turbine cleaning

Abstract

A cleaning method is disclosed for wet cleaning of an exhaust-gas turbine. An amount of cleaning fluid injected via a nozzle into the flow duct of the turbine can be variable over a course of time about a defined mean amount of cleaning fluid.

1 . A cleaning method for cleaning a turbine which is impinged on by exhaust gases conducted in a flow duct to a rotor blade of a turbine wheel, the method comprising:
 injecting, in a cleaning cycle, a cleaning fluid via at least one nozzle into the flow duct; and   varying an amount of the cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct of the turbine over a time of the cleaning cycle and about a defined mean fluid amount, wherein through the varying of the amount of cleaning fluid, a distribution of cleaning fluid and a wetting of surfaces to be cleaned will be varied in a transient manner over an adjustable surface region.   
     
     
         2 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 specifying the defined mean fluid amount based on geometric dimensions of the turbine.   
     
     
         3 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 specifying the defined mean fluid amount as a function of conditions prevailing in the flow duct upstream of the turbine by: measuring at least one measurement variable which characterizes conditions prevailing upstream of the turbine, determining a value for the defined mean fluid amount from the measured measurement variable, and varying injection of the cleaning fluid about the defined mean fluid amount over the time of the cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         4 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising:
 measuring measurement variables of an associated internal combustion engine to determine the conditions prevailing in the flow duct upstream of the turbine.   
     
     
         5 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising:
 measuring measurement variables of the exhaust-gas turbocharger to determine the conditions prevailing in the flow duct upstream of the turbine.   
     
     
         6 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 injecting a cleaning fluid into the flow duct via two or more nozzles arranged in a manner distributed along a circumference, wherein an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per individual nozzle, into the flow ducts of the turbine is varied over a time of the cleaning cycle about a defined mean fluid amount, such that an overall fluid amount from all the nozzles over the time of the cleaning cycle remains constant and corresponds to the defined mean fluid amount multiplied by the number of nozzles.   
     
     
         7 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 controlling an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct by varying an injection pressure of the cleaning fluid.   
     
     
         8 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 controlling an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct by way of nozzle geometry.   
     
     
         9 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 1 , comprising:
 varying an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct periodically.   
     
     
         10 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein a period duration is between 3 and 120 seconds. 
     
     
         11 . A cleaning device for cleaning a turbine which will be impinged on by exhaust gases during operation, comprising:
 a pump for delivering a cleaning fluid;   at least one nozzle for injecting the cleaning fluid into a flow duct of a turbine; and   at least one adjustable element for dynamically varying a throughflow of the cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct of a turbine over a time of the cleaning cycle and about a defined mean fluid amount, wherein through the varying of the amount of cleaning fluid, a distribution of cleaning fluid and a wetting of surfaces to be cleaned will be varied in a transient manner over an adjustable surface region.   
     
     
         12 . The cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the adjustable element comprises:
 a pump for delivering cleaning fluid with an adjustable throughflow rate.   
     
     
         13 . The cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the adjustable element comprises:
 an adjustable valve in the feed line for providing cleaning fluid to the nozzles.   
     
     
         14 . The cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11 , comprising:
 two or more nozzles , wherein the adjustable element includes an adjustable flow distributor in the feed line for providing cleaning fluid to the nozzles.   
     
     
         15 . The cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the adjustable element includes at least one nozzle with at least one of: an adjustable nozzle opening, a regulated iris aperture, or an oscillating nozzle opening flap. 
     
     
         16 . The cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the adjustable element includes an oscillating flow element in the feed line to the at least one nozzle. 
     
     
         17 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising:
 controlling an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct by varying an injection pressure of the cleaning fluid.   
     
     
         18 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising:
 controlling an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct by way of nozzle geometry.   
     
     
         19 . The cleaning method as claimed in  claim 3 , comprising:
 varying an amount of cleaning fluid injected, per nozzle, into the flow duct periodically.   
     
     
         20 . A cleaning device as claimed in  claim 11  for cleaning a turbine, in combination with the turbine and an internal combustion engine configured such that the turbine will be impinged on by exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine during operation, the combination comprising:
 means for measuring measurement variables of the internal combustion engine to determine conditions prevailing in the flow duct upstream of the turbine.