Optimal parameter design of a cleaning device for vertical glass surfaces

Abstract

Cleaning of building windows is an extremely important issue for building owners. As construction techniques are continuously being developed, many high-rise buildings are being constructed in a competitive manner. Building owners hire human workers for cleaning their façades, who are required to hang on a rope or gondola, which takes a long time and is highly dangerous. To reduce the number of accidents and replace human workers, many researchers are developing façade maintenance robots, most of which simply use a brush and water. In this study, a new cleaning device consisting of a brush, nozzle, squeegee, and suction device was developed, and the design parameters were optimized using the Taguchi method. Cleaning experiments were conducted after contaminating windows, and the degree of contamination was measured quantitatively after applying an imaging technique.