BionicJet2

Efficient spray cleaning of surfaces plays an important role in many areas to ensure the quality of manufactured products. In particular, the mechanical impact of the spray jet is crucial for the safe removal of soil layers. Innovative approaches that ensure a better distribution of the jet pressure on the surface make an important contribution to increasing efficiency.
One possibility here is to imitate the hunting behaviour of the archerfish. This fish is able to shoot water jets out of the water in a targeted manner to hit insects on leaves above the water surface and catch them as soon as they fall into the water. This behaviour is based on a mechanism that bundles the ejected water jet into a compact water lump at the point of impact, which is to be adapted for intermittent cleaning processes using targeted modulation of the jet speed in cleaning nozzles.
In the previous project BionicJet, it was shown that jet generation modelled on the archerfish is generally possible and that there is great potential for improving the cleaning effect. In the present project, this approach is now to be further developed so that the principle can also be applied industrially in the future. To this end, solutions are being found that will make it possible to use the system with a moving nozzle, with varying distances and for industrial cleaning fluids. In addition, gravity is also taken into account in the jet modulation. In this way, the developed intermittent spray nozzles can be used in the future, for example, for more efficient tank cleaning and other applications. The final validation in the project is therefore also carried out by implementing the developed system in a target jet cleaner for cleaning an industry-related tank.