<i>Surface Modification to Improve Milk Cleanability of Stainless Steel Tubes</i>

Abstract

Abstract. The internal surfaces of pipes and tubes in the dairy industry must be kept clean for food safety and hygiene. Ten different sets of magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) parameters were used to produce 20 mm outside-diameter 304 stainless steel tubes with internal Rz surface roughnesses of 0.16 to 3.44 μm. Tests of dynamic wettability and cleanability of the surfaces indicate that surfaces smoother than about 1 μm may have higher wettability and cleanability. These results imply that full-scale dairy pipes should be smoothed with the MAF process and be tested under commercially-relevant deposition and cleaning flow conditions.