The Cyberjet tank cleaning robot.
 

The Cyberjet is the worlds' first operational tank washing robot apt for conventional internal cleaning of tanks. It is the 'high end' of currently available cleaning apparatus. The Cyberjet has been developed both to comply to the diminishing levels of pollution allowed in the products that are to be stored in the cleaned tanks, and to comply to increasingly stringent environmental demands. The Cyberjet combines thorough cleaning with extreme economy, resulting in spectacular savings in time, water, energy, cleaning agents and waste water, allowing for a substantial reduction of the operational costs of the washing process.
 

Description
The Cyberjet is a programmable machine that controls the jet(s) of cleaning fluid in a very sophisticated way. It has a stainless steel rotatable head with a rotatable nozzle which is placed in a fixed location in the tank. By means of controlling the two rotations using a polar-coordinate model, the jet's spraying direction can be steered with any speed into any chosen direction.  The programming is such that the trajectory of the jet's impingement point covers the tank's inner surface in a systematic way.
The movement of the head is driven entirely outside of the tank by two stepping motors. Inside the tank there are no electrical components.  The advanced electronic motion controller of the Cyberjet is a programmable device  with several PLC functions (analog and digital in- and outputs). As a whole, it can be constructed explosion proof (EEx).
 

Philosophy
Ordinary tank cleaning devices are built to perform a 360 degree cleaning using a minimum of gears. Its design dates back before the 1930's. Since the shape of the tank is not taken into account, some places in the tank receive far to much water while other's remain almost dry. The lack of systematic coverage causes recontamination with residu streaming down from higher places. The idea behind the Cyberjet is that the pollution is removed systematically and with exactly the right intensity. Ten years of research at the Delft University of Technology resulted in several process optimizations. Since the Cyberjet's cleaning pattern is devised by software, an optimum cleaning performance can be obtained any kind or shape of tank.
 

Usability
The Cyberjet is meant for all tanks or spaces that have to be cleaned or desinfected on a regular basis. Especially for medium or large tanks the Cyberjet it is most fit, e.g: Production, transport or storage tanks for chemicals, foods, drinks, dairy products; tanks used by brewerys; fermentors, reactors, tanker cars, tanker ships, railtanks etc. Since cleaning doesn't have to be 360 degrees round, the Cyberjet can also be used for open containers, hygienic wet rooms, slaughter houses etc. The choice of material and the design allow the use of almost any solvent or temperature.
 

Sanitary design
In order to make the Cyberjet applicable in the food and drink industry, it's design complies to the requirements set by the EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering Design Group). There are no dead corners, bolts, connections or cavities where bacterials can remain. After use it will drain itself completely. In use, the bearings are flushed with washing liquid and its exterior showers itself.
 

New cleaning techniques
The Cyberjet is the first automated machine that can economically apply recently developed cleaning techniques, such as non-circulating use of cleaning-foams or -gels. The Cyberjet will at first apply a concentrated layer of cleaning agent, which will be rinsed out together with the pollution after a certain pre-set soaking time. Since recirculation is unnecessary, this technique saves the investment of a complete CIP installation.
 

Intensity optimization
The cleaning intensity is the product of two important parameters: The pattern density, L, and the transversal velocity,  V, of the impingement point of the jet over the target surface. In the ideal situation the surface is entirely washed with the same intensity, hence V x L  amounts the same constant value anywhere.
Since the nozzles of an ordinary tank cleaning machine's nozzle rotate at a fixed speed, V and L are a function of the size and geometry of the tank. As a rule of thumb doubling the distance decreases the cleaning intensity by a factor 8.
The required cleaning intensity depends on type and severity of the pollution, resulting in values of  V and L as a function of tank geometry. The Cyberjet's rotational direction and speed of the nozzle are determined in such a way that the cleaning pattern obeys these ideal values anywhere in the tank.
 

Logistical-optimization
Since the tank has to be cleaned entirely, the trajectory of the jet's impingement point covers the whole of the tanks inner surface. In this, many optimizations have been applied. For instance, the effect of gravity and the direction in which the fluid disperses from the target area are taken into account, preventing re-contamination of previously cleaned areas.

As much as possible, the impingement point  traverses perpendicularly to the heartline of the jet, thus maximizing the width of the cleaned area. For sharper the impingement angles, L should be larger and V should be smaller. Furthermore, the displacement direction of the dirt is taken into account. Each jet passage sweeps the pollution further down.

In case of  the Cyberjet being used as spreading device for a concentrated cleaning agent, the optimal pattern is almost equal to the optimal removal pattern, except that for it's excution in opposite direction.
 

Areas with special attention
Apart from Cyberjet cleaning many times faster than a conventional machine,  things really get interesting when areas are present that are harder to clean. The Cyberjet is capabe of spot-washing, e.g. for drainage sinks, connecting pipe ends, etc. Furthermore it can perform rim-washing, e.g. for the removal of the burn-yeast rim in a beertank which developes at the gas-fluid level. Unter these conditions conventional washing heads achieve very poor cleaning results. In each conventional half-hour washing cycle only the jets remain in the problem area for only a fwe seconds. In these cases the Cyberjet presents an excellent solution to this problem.
 

History
The Cyberjet is the brainchild of  Ir. D.G.F. Verbeek. He has been connected to the Delft University of Technology from 1987 till 1993 where he was the primary executioner of two research projects in the gathering of theoretical and practical knowledge concerning the cleaning of tanks. In 1988 he graduated on the subject for the Faculty of Physics, after which he continued his research, first as draft replacement and later as PhD student.

The first Cyberjet was developed as a research instrument. It appeared that applying an optimized cleaning pattern in a simple tank would lead to savings by a factor of 20 in time and in the amount of water used.

After the T.U.Delft, mr. Verbeek, now with his own company Tank Cleaning Engineering, has put himself primarily to the further development and perfecting of the Cyberjet and the software applying to tank cleaning.
 
Investment
Although a Cyberjet is more expensive than ordinary tank-washing heads, this does not necessarily apply to the price of a total cleaning system. Because of the greater effective reach compared to ordinary machines, the system can be fitted with a lesser number of them. Since the Cyberjet may use a single nozzle where conventional machines use four, the pump capacity is comparatively lower, which means savings on pumps, pipes, valves, CIP tanks etc.
 
Pay-back time
In those cases where the Cyberjet is to replace existing tank washing machines the repayment time depends upon the circumstances. In the case of tanker ships the most important cleaning-related costs derive from the processing of slops. The Cyberjet will repay its investment in the matter of one, or a few at worst, years. In all cases current cleaning costs have to be evaluated before the pay-back time can be estimated.

Delivery
The Cyberjet will exclusively be delivered on order. The time required for delivery is 4 months. Case-bound and optimized software is included in the delivery. Integration with other systems is an option. Controlling the Cyberjet with, or allowing it to be controlled by, other PLC's or apparatus belongs to the possibilities.
 

Ordering or more information: send Email to D.G.F Verbeek

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