The effects on deposit removal of deposit strength, its thickness, and
sootblower jet characteristics were investigated in a scaled laborato
ry apparatus using synthetic brittle deposits covering single tubes. A
simple quantitative criterion that relates tensile strength of the de
posit and the sootblower peak impact pressure required to remove a dep
osit by brittle fracture was derived. Brittle deposit failure is a ver
y rapid process implying that sootblower effectiveness does not depend
on the exposure time in the boiler areas where deposits are brittle.
A calculation procedure is presented for estimating the effective clea
ning radius of a sootblower for deposit removal.