Cleaning Electrical Equipment
Dry ice blasting offers a safe, fast, and effective way to complete maintenance on electrical power generation equipment.
Generators, turbines, stators, rotors, compressors, boilers, and heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) can all be cleaned using dry ice blasting. The process is non-conductive and environmentally friendly compared to traditional cleaning methods. Dry ice blasting will reduce the chance of catastrophic failure, improve megohm readings, increase polarization indices, and improve thermal dissipation.
Dry ice eliminates secondary waste and leaves no film or residue on the contact surfaces. This process drastically reduces cleaning time and provides a greater detail cleaning allowing faster reassembly with no drying time and substantially reducing costs.
The Benefits of Cleaning Electrical Equipment with Dry Ice Blasting
Dry ice blast cleaning is a process that can be safely used on electrical apparatus. There is no damage to stator slots, turbine blades, or other delicate components. Popular applications include hydro generating equipment (stators & rotors), transformers, substations, gas turbine generators, nuclear decontamination, insulators, motor control centers, power distribution panels, and system components.
- Safe for equipment
- Safe for the environment
- Safe for employees
- Cleaned in place
- Dry on contact
- No secondary waste
Dry Ice Blasting quickly, effectively, and safely removes contaminates from equipment at Ontario Power Generation. Dry ice blasting is ideal for cleaning all kinds of surfaces, from metal, to wood, to brick.
Fin Fans
Heat exchangers, chillers, evaporators, condensers, generator fans, and air exchangers need to be cleaned regularly. The cooling coils surrounded by fins get plugged up over time with dirt and other debris as air moves through them. When this happens, it causes these expensive machines to work harder and consume more energy.
Dry ice blasting is the most efficient, environmentally friendly, and least time-consuming method for fin fan cleaning. Blockages in these coils are instantly removed with no mess or damage to the fins. The Wickens Dry Ice Blasting team are experts in industrial cleaning, ensuring the delicate fins surrounding the coils are not damaged and providing a cleaner clean.
Cleaning Electronic Components
Tricky clean up requires a powerful solution. Dry ice blast cleaning removes dirt, grime, tar, and bitumen to reveal a clean surface on electrical components. Dry ice is safe around wires, without disassembly or downtime. Wickens Dry Ice Blasting machines are portable so cleaning can be done in place without taking up much space. Dry ice blasting can be used to clean electrical panels, variable frequency drives, and welded components.
Transformer Cleaning
Dry ice blasting removes dirt, grime, and loose paint from transformers, improving performance more quickly than other cleaning methods. The process is completely dry and can be done on-site, which substantially reduces downtime. Following cleaning, transformers can also be painted to the customer’s specifications.
Stator and Rotor Cleaning
Dry ice blasting removes carbon deposits from windings along with other contaminants from the air vents on the stator and the rotor. Oil and grease is removed from the bottom of the rotor without damage to the insulating coatings or glyptal. A rotor and stator can typically be cleaned in 20% of the time and more thoroughly than it takes to clean by hand. There is no secondary waste as is the case with Walnut Blasting.
Gas Turbine Cleaning
Dry ice blasting effectively cleans the rotor and casing. Deposits and fouling buildup are removed from the rotor blades without damage to the metal surfaces. Carbon buildup and mechanical debris is removed from the casing vanes. Dry ice also provides rapid cleaning of ancillary turbine parts facilitating fast turnaround.
Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) Cleaning
High-pressure tube wall cleaning with dry ice removes corrosion and gas deposits from the tubes and fins. Our extensive experience allows us to offer a turn key service in scaffold erection and confined space work.
Cogeneration Boilers
Boiler wall and heating tubes are cleaned with dry ice blasting, drastically improving heat transfer and flow. Quick turnaround is offered by our experienced technicians in confined space and scaffolding.
Decontaminating a “Semi-Hot” Cell
There are many old reactors and nuclear facilities that are either being dismantled or planned for decommissioning. Dry ice blasting can be used for decontamination of a “semi-hot” cell where lower levels of radioactivity are present as well as decontaminating building surfaces and removing contaminated coatings.
Before & After
Check out these before and after photos of Electric Power projects completed by Wickens Dry Ice Blasting.
