Tube bundle cleaning system and method

Abstract

A tube cleaning system and method including a nozzle holder operable to secure nozzles in a nozzle arrangement, the nozzle arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of tubes of a tube bundle, and a nozzle positioning system operable to move the nozzle holder and nozzles secured therein, to cause the nozzles to engage a set of tubes of the tubes of the tube bundle, the nozzles configured to direct cleaning fluid into the set of tubes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of vapor cleaning tubes of a tube bundle comprising:
 conducting a tube engage operation comprising controlling a positioning system to move a nozzle holder to advance outlets of nozzles into engagement with inlets of a set of tubes of the tube bundle, the nozzle holder securing the nozzles in a nozzle arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of tubes of a tube bundle, the moving of the nozzle holder comprising the positioning system moving the nozzle holder and the nozzles secured therein relative to the tube bundle to position outlets of the nozzles into engagement with inlets of tubes of the tube bundle such that the nozzles are positioned to direct a cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle while the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle are engaged by the outlets of the nozzles to provide a vapor cleanse of the tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles engaged with the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle; and   conducting a tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to advance the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with inlets of a second set of tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a second tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the second set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles engaged with ends of the second set of tubes; and   conducting a second tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media comprises flowing the cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media in accordance with a set of flow parameters for a specified duration. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 adjusting positioning of the nozzles in the nozzle holder to dispose the nozzles in a second nozzle arrangement c;   wherein the nozzles are secured in the nozzle holder in a second nozzle arrangement corresponding to a second arrangement of a second set of tubes of a tube bundle, the method further comprising:   conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to advance the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement into engagement with the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a second tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the second set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement and engaged with ends of the second set of tubes; and   conducting a second tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the arrangement of tubes of the tube bundle comprises a given tube spacing, and wherein the nozzle arrangement comprises a nozzle spacing corresponding to the given tube spacing. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle arrangement is a linear arrangement comprising the outlets of the nozzles aligned linearly and offset by a given distance. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises:
 a nozzle holder base configured to couple to a shuttle; and   a nozzle holder cradle comprising nozzle retainers configured to secure the nozzles in the nozzle arrangement,   wherein the nozzle holder cradle is configured to translate relative to the nozzle holder base to provide for movement of the nozzle holder cradle and the nozzles secured in the nozzle holder cradle relative to the shuttle to position the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle,   the tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to translate the nozzle holder cradle forward relative to the nozzle holder base to advance the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle, and   the tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to translate the nozzle holder cradle backwards relative to the nozzle holder base to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage engage the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises a multi-nozzle holder configured to provide for independent movement of the nozzles relative to one another, and the method comprising conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move a first nozzle of the nozzles into engagement with a tube of the tube bundle and position a second nozzle of the nozzles in a disengaged state. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein engagement of the outlets of the nozzles with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle comprises sealing engagement, contact engagement or near contact engagement between the outlets of the nozzles and the inlets of the tubes. 
     
     
         10 . A vapor heat exchanger tube bundle cleaning system comprising:
 a nozzle positioning system comprising:   a nozzle holder configured to secure nozzles in a nozzle arrangement, the nozzle arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of tubes of a tube bundle; and   a positioning system configured to move the nozzle holder and the nozzles secured therein relative to the tube bundle,   the positioning system configured to move the nozzles to position outlets of the nozzles into engagement with inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle such that the nozzles are positioned to direct a cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle while the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle are engaged by the outlets of the nozzles to provide a vapor cleanse of the tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a fluid source controller, wherein the fluid source controller is configured to control flow of the cleaning fluid into the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle in accordance with a set of flow parameters for a specified duration. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle holder is configured to provide for variability of positioning of the nozzles in the nozzle holder to enable securing the nozzles in a second nozzle arrangement. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the arrangement of tubes of the tube bundle comprises a given tube spacing, and wherein the nozzle arrangement comprises a nozzle spacing corresponding to the given tube spacing. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle arrangement is a linear arrangement comprising outlets of the nozzles aligned linearly and offset by a given distance. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises:
 a nozzle holder base configured to couple to a shuttle; and   a nozzle holder cradle comprising nozzle retainers configured to secure the nozzles in the nozzle arrangement,   wherein the nozzle holder cradle is configured to translate relative to the nozzle holder base to provide for movement of the nozzle holder cradle, the nozzle retainers and the nozzles relative to the shuttle to position the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the nozzle holder cradle is coupled to the nozzle holder base by way of a slide mount configured to provide for sliding translation of the nozzle holder cradle relative to the nozzle holder base. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the nozzle holder cradle is configured to pivot relative to the nozzle holder base about a pivot axis to provide for pivoting of the nozzle holder cradle and the nozzles secured in the nozzle holder cradle relative to the shuttle. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises a multi-nozzle holder configured to provide for independent movement of the nozzles relative to one another, and wherein the positioning system is configured to move a first nozzle of the nozzles into engagement with a tube of the tube bundle and position a second nozzle of the nozzles in a disengaged state. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the outlets of the nozzles are configured to be positioned into sealing engagement, contact engagement or near contact engagement with inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle to direct the cleaning fluid into the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle while the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle are engaged by the outlets of the nozzles. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor to perform the following operations for vapor cleaning tubes of a tube bundle comprising:
 conducting a tube engage operation comprising controlling a positioning system to move a nozzle holder to advance outlets of nozzles into engagement with inlets of a set of tubes of a tube bundle, the nozzles secured in the nozzle holder in a nozzle arrangement corresponding to an arrangement of the tubes of the tube bundle, the moving of the nozzle holder comprising the positioning system moving the nozzle holder and the nozzles secured therein relative to the tube bundle to position the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle such that the nozzles are positioned to direct a cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle while the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle are engaged by the outlets of the nozzles to provide a vapor cleanse of the tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles engaged with the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle; and   conducting a tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         21 . The medium of  claim 20 , the operations further comprising:
 conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to advance the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with inlets of a second set of tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a second tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the second set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles engaged with ends of the second set of tubes; and   conducting a second tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         22 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein the directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media comprises flowing the cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media in accordance with a set of flow parameters for a specified duration. 
     
     
         23 . The medium of  claim 20 ,
 wherein the nozzles are secured in the nozzle holder in a second nozzle arrangement corresponding to a second arrangement of a second set of tubes of a tube bundle, and   the operations further comprising:   conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to advance the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement into engagement with the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle;   conducting a second tube cleaning operation comprising directing cleaning fluid comprising a mixture of water vapor and media into the inlets of the second set of tubes by way of the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement and engaged with ends of the second set of tubes; and   conducting a second tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move the nozzle holder to retract the outlets of the nozzles secured in the second nozzle arrangement to disengage the outlets of the nozzles from the inlets of the second set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         24 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein the arrangement of tubes of the tube bundle comprises a given tube spacing, and wherein the nozzle arrangement comprises a nozzle spacing corresponding to the given tube spacing. 
     
     
         25 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein the nozzle arrangement is a linear arrangement comprising the outlets of the nozzles aligned linearly and offset by a given distance. 
     
     
         26 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises:
 a nozzle holder base configured to couple to a shuttle; and   a nozzle holder cradle comprising nozzle retainers configured to secure the nozzles in the nozzle arrangement,   wherein the nozzle holder cradle is configured to translate relative to the nozzle holder base to provide for movement of the nozzle holder cradle and the nozzles secured in the nozzle holder cradle relative to the shuttle to position the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle,   the tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to translate the nozzle holder cradle forward relative to the nozzle holder base to advance the outlets of the nozzles into engagement with the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle, and   the tube disengage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to translate the nozzle cradle backwards relative to the nozzle holder base to retract the outlets of the nozzles to disengage engage the inlets of the set of tubes of the tube bundle.   
     
     
         27 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein the nozzle holder comprises a multi-nozzle holder configured to provide for independent movement of the nozzles relative to one another, and the operations comprising conducting a second tube engage operation comprising controlling the positioning system to move a first nozzle of the nozzles into engagement with a tube of the tube bundle and position a second nozzle of the nozzles in a disengaged state. 
     
     
         28 . The medium of  claim 20 , wherein engagement of the outlets of the nozzles with the inlets of the tubes of the tube bundle comprises sealing engagement, contact engagement or near contact engagement between the outlets of the nozzles and the inlets of the tubes.