Automated technique for high-pressure water-based window cleaning and accompanying parametric study

PLoS One. 2020 Dec 3;15(12):e0242413. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242413. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

The maintenance of buildings has become an important issue with the construction of many high-rise buildings in recent years. However, the cleaning of the outer walls of buildings is performed in highly hazardous environments over long periods, and many accidents occur each year. Various robots are being studied and developed to reduce these incidents and to relieve workers from hazardous tasks. Herein, we propose a method of spraying high-pressure water using a pump and nozzle, which differs from conventional methods. The cleaning performance parameters, such as water pressure, spray angle, and spray distance, were optimized using the Taguchi method. Cleaning experiments were performed on window specimens that were contaminated artificially. The cleaning performance of the proposed method was evaluated using the image-evaluation method. The optimum condition was determined based on the results of a sensitive analysis performed on the image data. In addition, the reaction force due to high pressure and impact force on the specimens were investigated. These forces were not sufficient to affect the propeller thrust or cause damage to the building's surface. We expect to perform field tests in the near future based on the output of this research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Construction Industry / trends*
  • Humans
  • Hydrostatic Pressure*
  • Maintenance / trends
  • Robotics / trends*
  • Water

Substances

  • Water

Grants and funding

(T. Seo) This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT for First-Mover Program for Accelerating Disruptive Technology Development (Management: NRF-2018M3C1B9088328 (Specification No.1: 2018M3C1B9088330, Specification No.2: 2018M3C1B9088331, Specification No.3: 2018M3C1B9088332)). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.