Aleksandr Pushkarev, DSc in Engineering, Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Land Transport and Technological Machines has developed a method for calculating and designing attachments for municipal vehicles used for the hydro-jet cleaning of working surfaces on transport infrastructure facilities.
The research aims to enhance the capabilities of municipal machinery used to clear roads, engineering structures, and other facilities of contaminants, snow and ice formations, and various deposits. The technology employs a high-pressure water jet, while the use of abrasive particles increases the efficiency of removing contaminants from metal, asphalt-concrete, stone, and other surfaces.
The relevance of this work stems from the current lack of scientifically grounded methods for calculating and designing the working tools and attachment systems for this type of equipment. Therefore, the study focused on investigating the principles of the hydro-jet cleaning process and determining the parameters required for equipment design.
In experimental studies, Aleksandr Pushkarev tested the technology's effectiveness on various surfaces: asphalt concrete with an ice layer, granite with mortar, road markings, and a metal sheet coated with alkyd paint. The results showed that cleaning of the samples occurred at water pressures as low as 10 MPa, while increasing the pressure to 20 MPa enhanced the process's performance.
Analysis of the obtained data made it possible to establish the relationships between the volume of material removed and key cleaning parameters, including tool travel speed, distance to the surface, and water temperature. The influence of water and abrasive supply parameters—specifically flow rate, density, and pressure—was also investigated.
The established relationships make it possible to select cleaning parameters tailored to a specific surface and the technical specifications of the municipal vehicle. Furthermore, the developed method enables the determination of the necessary parameters for the water and abrasive delivery system to achieve the target performance.
The research findings can be applied to the design of attachments for municipal maintenance vehicles and the selection of their operating modes, taking into account the characteristics of the surface being cleaned. The developed methodology provides a basis for the informed selection of equipment and the development of design solutions for hydro-jet cleaning machines.
The study titled "Method for Calculating and Designing Attachments for a Municipal Machine for Cleaning Transport Infrastructure Work Surfaces" was conducted as part of the research activities of SPbGASU academic staff, funded by internal university grants in 2026.
