Patent ID: 6945316

Claim:
System for cleaning tubes of heat exchangers through which a fluid medium flows, comprising cleaning bodies resistant to temperatures greater than 120° C. and able to withstand exposure to said fluid medium, said cleaning bodies having an outer dimension substantially equal to an inner diameter of an inner wall of said tubes, and having an outer contact surface adapted to remove deposits from said inner wall of said tubes, said bodies being driven through said tubes by said fluid medium whereby said deposits are removed from said inner wall and carried from said tubes by at least one of said cleaning bodies and said fluid medium, wherein said cleaning bodies comprise an inner buoyancy element and an outer cleaning element, and wherein said cleaning element forms a contact surface and is a material selected from the group consisting of metal lamellae, knitted metal, metal mesh, and metal foil, and wherein said material is attached to at least one of said buoyancy element and an intermediate element.