Abrasive Cleaning Balls – Types RA / RAT / RTA / RTAT

RA Type

Maximum operating temperature: 80°C
Abrasive ring coating

RAT Type

Maximum operating temperature: 80°C
Fully abrasive-coated

RTA Type

Maximum operating temperature: 140°C
High-temperature abrasive ring coating

RTAT Type

Maximum operating temperature: 140°C
High-temperature fully abrasive-coated

Typical Applications

Abrasive cleaning balls are designed for use in online tube cleaning systems operating at temperatures up to 80°C or 140°C, such as steam condensers and heat exchangers in conventional power plants, nuclear power plants, and MSF desalination plants.

They are used whenever deposits cannot be completely removed by standard sponge rubber cleaning balls, or when rough tube surfaces need to be polished after acid cleaning or corrosion.

Typical applications include:

• Removal of corrosion products (e.g. formed during plant shutdown) and fouling layers such as slime and silt for tube surface restoration.
• Removal of biofouling and manganese-rich deposits that cannot be effectively eliminated by standard sponge balls.
• Removal of hard crystalline scale, typically calcium carbonate, especially in open recirculating cooling water systems with cooling towers or cooling ponds.
• Removal of damaged artificial protective films, such as ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄) coatings.

Note: Abrasive cleaning balls should be used with caution to avoid increasing the risk of corrosion, particularly in brackish water, seawater, or other cooling waters with high chloride concentrations.

Available Sizes

For ring-coated abrasive balls, the nominal ball diameter refers to the diameter of the uncoated sponge ball.

(For further information on the uncoated sponge balls, please refer to our Technical Information for Sponge Cleaning Balls, Types RS and RT.)

Standard abrasive cleaning balls are available in diameters ranging from 15 mm to 45 mm, in 1 mm increments, with medium hardness as the standard specification.

Non-standard diameters and hardness grades are available upon request.

Abrasive Coating

The abrasive layer consists of fine silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive particles bonded to the sponge rubber ball using a specially formulated high-performance adhesive, ensuring excellent adhesion and long service life.

Water Saturation

Before use, each cleaning ball should be compressed once or twice underwater to expel trapped air and ensure complete water saturation.

Resistance to Cooling Water

Both the sponge material and the adhesive used for the abrasive coating have been specially selected for power plant and industrial condenser applications.

As a result, the abrasive cleaning balls provide excellent resistance to virtually all types of cooling water.

Cleaning Performance

The cleaning efficiency of abrasive balls depends largely on the type and severity of the deposits to be removed.

The number of abrasive balls required for cleaning a heat exchanger or steam condenser depends on the total number of tubes (n). The following recommendations may be used as general guidelines:

Ball Service Life

The service life of abrasive cleaning balls depends primarily on the condition of the tube surface.

Hard crystalline scale and severely corroded tube surfaces significantly reduce ball life due to increased abrasive wear.

Under relatively smooth tube conditions, the typical service life of an abrasive cleaning ball is approximately 2,000 tube passes.