Project number
17001
Organization
Cleancan
Academic year
2017-2018
Project goal: To expedite the cleaning of residential refuse cans by designing an automatic wash-dry cycle that is compact, self-contained, efficient and sustainable.
Removing residue from these containers provides many benefits to the community and reduces media for flies and other disease-spreading vectors.
The rotary union designed distributes hot pressurized water about the can’s interior and uses the water’s velocity to drive a rotating mechanism. The process that cleans the can exterior was designed to contain all water within the system while maximizing the contact between the water and the can walls. Water pressures and flow rates were modeled using WaterCAD. A prototype system was fabricated and tested. Optimal water flow rates, nozzle sizes, and pipe lengths were selected through several iterations of testing.
Removing residue from these containers provides many benefits to the community and reduces media for flies and other disease-spreading vectors.
The rotary union designed distributes hot pressurized water about the can’s interior and uses the water’s velocity to drive a rotating mechanism. The process that cleans the can exterior was designed to contain all water within the system while maximizing the contact between the water and the can walls. Water pressures and flow rates were modeled using WaterCAD. A prototype system was fabricated and tested. Optimal water flow rates, nozzle sizes, and pipe lengths were selected through several iterations of testing.