Patent ID: 9207211
Filing Date: 2015-12-08
Classification: F22B,G01B,G01N

Abstract:
1. A deposit measurement apparatus that is applied to a heat exchanger provided with a heat-conducting pipe and a pipe-supporting plate in which a through-hole for inserting the heat-conducting pipe is formed, the through-hole having N protrusions in a circumferential direction of the heat-conducting pipe, and that estimates a blockage ratio of a gap between a wall surface of the through-hole and an outer surface of the heat-conducting pipe or a thickness of a deposit deposited at the gap, the deposit measurement apparatus comprising: a signal acquisition section for acquiring a flaw detection signal by scanning inside the heat-conducting pipe with a sensor; and a processing section for estimating the blockage ratio at the gap or the thickness of the deposit deposited at the gap by using the flaw detection signal for the gap of the pipe-supporting-plate protrusion in the through-hole; wherein the signal acquisition section acquires flaw detection signals when M measurement points disposed inside the heat-conducting pipe at equal intervals in the circumferential direction thereof are scanned in the axial direction of the heat-conducting pipe; wherein the processing section includes an evaluation-group selection section for specifying protrusion groups that can be considered to be positioned at the pipe-supporting-plate protrusions in the through-hole among the flaw detection signals acquired by the signal acquisition section, and for selecting signals from evaluation groups, which are groups other than the protrusion groups, as evaluation sensor signals; and wherein the processing section further includes an estimating section for estimating blockage ratios or thicknesses of deposits by using the evaluation sensor signals.