Experimental Investigations into Improvement of Cleaning Performance for Anticorrosive Paints for Shipbuilding using Handheld-Type Laser Cleaning Equipment

Abstract

In the shipbuilding and marine industry, laser cleaning is considered an eco-friendly technology because it can significantly reduce the generation of secondary waste when removing the paint and oxide layer on a steel surface during ship repair work. Accordingly, various studies are being conducted worldwide for the application of laser cleaning. However, studies on the removal of various types of paint used on ships for anticorrosion and cosmetic effects and on the control of the scanning mode of laser cleaning application parts, such as square and circular, are limited. Therefore, in this study, the effects of the scanning mode and major process parameters were analyzed for four types of specimen coated with different paints and with various thicknesses. Consequently, it was possible to remove the paint on the steel surface completely by using handheld-type laser cleaning equipment with an average power of 100 W. In addition, the working time was reduced and the cleaning performance was improved by determining the scanning mode suitable for the laser cleaning application part and the optimal process parameters for each specimen.