Study on the Deflagration Characteristics and Application of Portable Gas Pulse Ash Cleaning Devices

There is a common problem of ash accumulation in the heat exchange tubes of large boilers, which can decrease the efficiency of heat exchangers, increase system resistance, and cause corrosion, easily leading to heat exchange tube explosions. It is necessary to develop efficient and low-cost methods for ash cleaning to ensure the safe and efficient operation of boilers. This paper presents a study on the deflagration characteristics of portable gas pulse ash cleaning devices, and the ash cleaning effect of these devices was also verified in actual waste incineration plants. The experimental results indicate that the transfer characteristics of deflagration pressure waves are influenced by the fuel type, equivalence ratio, initial inflation pressure of the premixed gas, and mixture container size; among them, C₂H₂ has the best deflagration performance and is suitable for use as the preferred fuel for this technology, and the equivalence ratio of the highest deflagration intensity is approximately 0.9. Meanwhile, the deflagration pressure waves can also be enhanced by increasing the initial inflation pressure and selecting a thinner diaphragm. The portable gas pulse ash cleaning device can reduce the emitted gas temperature of waste heat boilers by approximately 30 °C after application verification. The main advantages of the device are its high efficiency of ash removal, simple operation, low equipment investment, and low operation cost, and it has broad application prospects in the ash cleaning of waste heat boilers.