SURFACE CLEANING

PROCESSES
PRESENTED TO:
DR UMAR MANZOOR
PRESENTED BY:
GROUP # 2

E13-304

SHAAF AMJAD

E13-311

UMAIR KHALID

E13-321

IMRAN HUSSAIN KHAN

E13-327

AMEEN UR RASHEED

E13-343

SYED MUSTAJAB HASSAN

KAZMI

COURSE:
SURFACE ENGINEERING AND TRIBOLOGY

Cleaning of Metals
In order to ensure the efficient and lasting qualities of

coating, surface treatments and various finishing.

Thorough cleaning of base metal is required to achieve
this objective.
A metal surface during its phase of production come
prone to many contaminants such as dust, oils, grease,
tars, mill scales and other foreign materials.
Thus various cleaning methods are adopted to ensure a
clean surface of base metals for further finishing
processes.

Types of Cleaning Techniques

So cleaning methods for metals are categorized on the basis
of the contaminants involved. These categories are as
follows.
1. Chemical Cleaning
2. Ultrasonic Cleaning
3. Mechanical Cleaning
4. Oxy-acetylene flame cleaning

CHEMICAL
CLEANING

CHEMICAL CLEANING
Chemical cleaning is a type of surface treatment processes which

involves a metal cleaning which removes contamination usually oil

and grease.
The chemical cleaning process involves certain process which are
stated as:
Chemical
Cleaning

Alkaline
Cleaning

Solution,
Dispersion
Aggregation
Emuslification
Saponification

Acid Cleaning

CHEMICAL
CLEANING

Solution:

In this process, contaminant are dissolved in a cleaning solution.

Dispersion:
A process in which surface active elements are added which remove the
concentration of contamination in the cleaning solution.

Aggregation:
In this process, various contaminations are removed from surface in cleaning
solvent and collected as a big dirt particle.
Emulsification:
Emulsion cleaning uses emulsifiable solvents. These emulsifiable solvents
are compound which are formed by mixing organic solvent with emulsifying
agent, also soluble in water. They are less toxic. Soap mixed with organic
solvent make good emulsions.
Saponification:
A chemical reaction is occurred by reaction of animal oil or vegetable oil into
soaps which is water soluble e.g detergents

CHEMICAL CLEANING
Alkaline Cleaning:

It is a common industrial cleaning technique which uses an alkali to

remove oils grease, wax, and many types of particles from a metallic
surface. Cleaning solution consists of water soluble salts such as
NaOH, KOH, Na2CO3 with dispersants and surfactants in water.
cleaning is done by immersing or spraying at temperature of 50 oC to
95oC.
Acid Cleaning:
In acid cleaning, various acid cleaners are used for pickling,
deoxidizing, and bright dipping after the substances such as oil or
greases that dont dissolve in acid have been removed from metal
surface. Process is carried out at high temperature and done by soaking,
spraying, brushing or wiping. Common acid cleaners involve HCl,
HNO3 , H3PO4 ,and H2SO4.It typically removes thicker oxides, rusts
and scales from metals.

MECHANICAL
CLEANING

MECHANICAL CLEANING
It is the disturbance of the contamination on the metal
This can be done by means of wire or brush , belt, jet, tumbling

or stream jet, abrasive blasting, buffing and polishing. These

techniques improves the removal of mill scale, rust and other
solid contamination.
Vibratory
Cleaning

Power Brushing

Mechanical
Cleaning

Abrasive
Blasting

Tumbling

POWER BRUSHING

TUMBLING OR BARREL
FINISHING

In this technique power brushes and

fibers are driven by electrical motors Barrel finishing involves the

are
being
used
to
remove application of a horizontally oriented
contaminations such as heat treatment barrel of hexagonal cross section
scales, weld flux and burns etc.
Parts are rotated by mixing the barrel
Power brushing also help us to remove at 10-50 rev/min
and smoothen sharp edges on metal The particles rise in the barrel due to
surface during grinding or cutting.
rotation, followed by a tumbling
Uniform surface is attained by this
down of the top layer due to gravity.
technique
Steel balls, granite chips, aluminum
oxide pallets or slag are employed.

VIBRATORY CLEANING

Bulk finishing manufacturing

technique used to deburr , radius,

descale, furnish, clean, and shine a
big number of relatively small jobs.
Tubs or bowls are loaded with jobs
and abrasive media are vibrated
Frequencies ranging from 900 and
3600 cycles per minute.

ABRASIVE BLASTING
Dry Abrasive Blasting:
Abrasives particles are fired by
injection them into a high velocity air
stream onto the metal surface through
nozzle
The abrasives which are commonly
used are shots, steel grits or coarse
sand.
Wet Abrasive Grinding
Suspension of abrasives is made with
the help of an agitator.
Slurry is blasted with a gun through a
centrifugal pump.
Silica, quartz or aluminum oxide
powder are being used as abrasive
mediums.

ULTRASONIC CLEANING
Anultrasonic cleaningis a process that usesultrasound

(usuallyfrom20400kHz)andanappropriatecleaningsolvent
(sometimesordinarytapwater)tocleanitems.
Inaultrasoniccleaningprocess,systemconsistsofagenerator
that produces high frequency electric energy being converted
into high frequency sound waves by a transducer. These high
frequency waves vibrate the cleaning solution as well as the
component. When sound waves passes through a liquid, its
cavitates or ruptures forming small vacuums pockets which
then readily collapse resulting into vigorous scrubbing action.
Thecleaningagentsmaybeacids,solventsanddetergents.
This technique is used for cleaning of aircrafts, automobiles,
electronic equipment, computer precision parts, optical and
magneticparts,andjewelryandwatchparts.

WORKING OF ULTRASONIC CLEANING SYSTEM

OXY-ACETYLENE FLAME
CLEANING:
When cleaning is required for large size jobs such as

large plates of steel, then oxy-acetylene flame

cleaning is used to remove rust or mill scale over
their surfaces. Heat is provided to the scale from the
flame which expands it and easily removes from the
surface in the flakes form. Organic contaminants
such as oil or grease also get burnt as the
temperature of the flame is very high. After the oxyacetylene flame cleaning, brushing is done in order to
remove the burnt scale or remaining contaminants.

REFERENCES:
[1] J. P. KAUSHISH, MANUFACTURING
PROCESSES, New Dehli: Asoke. K. Ghosh, PHI
learning Private Ltd., 2010.

THANK YOU FOR

YOUR ATTENTION