Importance

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Abstract

A process and a device for cleaning inner or outer walls of vertically extending or inverted tubes of heat exchangers and especially for cleaning tubes in trash incinerators. The process involves imparting kinetic energy to the tubes in an axial direction and then suddenly stopping the tubes to shake loose dirt and the like. The device for the process includes arranging a plurality of rows of vertically extending tubes such that the tubes move upwardly and downwardly in the direction of the axis of the tubes. The tubes advantageously include their own lower distributors and upper headers. These distributors and/or headers rest on a movable cam or cam plate which, for example, may be rotated so that a radially extending offset of the shoulder of the cam permits the cam to lift the upper headers upwardly to a height at which point they are suddenly dropped. In an alternative embodiment, the upper header tubes are raised or lifted at their ends by a pneumatic or hydraulic piston cylinder, and the tubes are then lowered by the acceleration of gravity.

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First Claim