Basis models for cleaning simulation

To achieve reproducible results in regular cleaning applications, automated and permanently installed cleaning devices (cleaning in place, CIP cleaning) are used. Due to the lack of suitable design tools for optimisation, an over-dimensioning of the cleaning process is often taken into account. This leads to a reduction in productivity and a waste of water, chemicals and energy.
The aim of the project is to develop or enhance numerical models for the different cleaning mechanisms of soils, which are characterised by a good prediction quality in determining the cleaning time as well as viable calculation times for SMEs. The proposed solution combines a flow simulation (CFD) of the cleaning fluid for any desired shape of the product to be cleaned with a boundary condition that models the behaviour of the soil. This is a prerequisite for optimising a wide range of cleaning processes by using numerical simulations in the future. The models, which depend on the mode of failure, are to be developed and tested on geometrically simple test cases by using the knowledge and measurement data gained in previous projects, supplemented by further experimental and numerical investigations.
A cleaning prediction based on numerical simulation enables the industries to solve a wide range of problems in the field of cleaning, both reducing the efforts for process development and the resources required to operate the cleaning process.