Preliminary Guidelines for Safe and Effective Use of Hot, High-Pressure Washers for Maintenance Cleaning of Army Vehicles.

摘要

While hot, high-pressure washers clean effectively, they can also damage parts on Army vehicles. The objective of this study was to develop preliminary guidance for selecting vehicle maintenance cleaning equipment and its operational settings. Development of these guidelines was to take into account: maximum cleaning effectiveness; minimum risk of damage to vehicle components; and minimum safety hazard to personnel. To achieve this objective, the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) conducted a literature search and contacted cleaning equipment industries for current information. A theoretical analysis of operating variables was then conducted to identify those most likely to influence damage to components of Army vehicles. Next, vehicle parts were physically tested. These tests were divided into a lab phase, which addressed the damage issue, and a field phase, which concerned cleaning effectiveness and safety. Finally, the data from the background studies and the two phases of physical testing were combined to make final recommendations about selecting and operating maintenance cleaning equipment. From the results of the lab phase of this study, it can be concluded that there are no absolutely safe operational settings below which damage cannot occur and above which it will always occur. From the results of the field phase of this study, it can be concluded that the washer's pressure and temperature--above minimums of 500 psi (3445 kPa) and 110 F (43 C)--have little effect on the time required to clean any particular vehicle.