Optimisation in Mechanical Polishing and Spray Buffing of Resilient Floor Coverings with Regard to High-Speed Techniques
AiF 10254 N
1. Scientific Question
For the first time the coherences between measurable sizes (temperature, pressure, time) and physical and physikochemical processes in floor polishes was described quantitatively.
2. Research target and way of solution
2.1 Aim
The aim of the research project consisted to improve cleaning methods and repair measures for resilient floor coverings. From this the daily cleaning interval of the floor coverings can be given up in favor of only two or three times per week.
At a newly developed laboratory machine the demage of the flooring from the normal walking wear can be simulated within shortest time. On a also completely new designed laboratory single disk machine for high-speed burnishing and buffing these working processes can be conducted under certain conditions. Both machines were througoutly compared with the practice before the beginning of the main investigations to be able to adjust them so that the methods used in practice could be converted in optimal way.
2.2 Results
Floor coverings will be applied at first with a coating before they are used in the laboratory machine to simulate the wear of walking. On these coatings all the usual inter-cleaning methods can be used, which are applicable after heavy wear by the use of the laboratory single disk machine for high-speed burnishing.
The geometrical reductions carried out in the machines don’t impair the result if scale factors for the process variables are taken into account.
The laboratory single disk machine for high-speed burnishing and buffing can work on floor coverings up to a speed of 2000 rpm. All machine pads are usable for polishing after they have been cut to size on the machine demands.
Demage frequently appearing in practice can systematically be produced and examined. It could be stated that every polish (polymer or wax dispersion) normally has a specific temperature at which demage start to appear at the surface. This temperature is dependent on the basic polymers and is called glass transition temperature.
The coating gets soft and therefore delicate against destruction after exceeding the temperature. The machine parameters, at witch this temperature is reached are depending on the surface of the dispersion, on the pre-damage from wear as well as on the machine pad used. Since there are only distinctions in color for these pads witch say only little about the similarity of a product from two manufacturers, necessities have been shown for a more differently general classification.
A classification was carried out at the pads used in the research project. With the help of these data it can be taken from lists, at which machine parameters demage can for certain be avoided. With this data the machine parameters also can be chosen, to set a certain level of the desired gloss. The gloss becomes higher if the revolutions per minute of the used polishing machines increase. As a countermove the pressure form the weight of the machine on the pad must be reduced or the number of the processings are to be reduced in order to prevent demage.
The manufacturers of maintenance chemicals can develop the products so that the optimally desired gloss at definite customary machine values (weight, rpm) is reached without that demage appears.
The enterprises of the building maintanence and contract cleaning industry can use the results to use newly available machines and optimized machine technology with adjustable characteristics (weight on pad) leading to a good renovation and polishing result without causing demage.
3. Economic value for small and medium enterprises
The possibility to reach cost savings by more effective use of available machine technology leads to abbreviated times for processing and circumstances permitting higher machine usage time in building maintenance and cleaning contractor enterprises.
The renovation methods makes it possible to extend the life time of coatings and floor coverings. The time period can be prolonged between two strippings of the polish and therefore reduce the cost-intensive work with it. Furthermore it is possible to do completely without a stripping of the polish under certain boundary conditions with the developed renovation techniques.
To the rubbed off reduced layer thicknesses polish can be added after a certain pretreatment easily so that it is no more necessary to strip with chemicals. One therefore shall calculate with considerable cost savings in cleaning and maintenance of buildings.
4. Intended translation of the research results into action
The transfer of the results consists from the announcement in professional journals, particularly such, witch are read by staff of enterprises of the building maintenance and cleaning field. The knowledge transfer is primarily carried out by individual advice of singles businesses.
It is planned, to pass the knowledge around machine burnishing and buffing on to interested personal in seminars and workshops.
5. Keywords
- Cleaning and building maintenance industry
- Resilient floor coverings
- Polish
- Burnishing
- Spray buffing
- Repair of walking streets
- Wear of flooring
6. Acknowledgements
The research project (AiF-RP-No. 10254) was supported from the budget of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs through the Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen “Otto von Guericke” e.V. (AiF) (Association of Industrial Research Organisations). We would like to thank all funding organisations.
The research report is available on request from FRT.