Abstract
An improvement of efficiency of the horizontally rotating drum washing machine is possible by using a more open type of drum, essentially without suds in the annulus, by using a pump to wet the clothes during rotation and fall. Modelling and simulation are used to quantify these claims and further optimize the design of the horizontal washing machine. The flow of suds inside the deforming clothes at impact with the drum is calculated. The wash performance is shown to be largely proportional to the open perforation area in the drum. The traditional design uses 1/8 of drum area for the perforation holes. A significant reduction of water, detergent, electrical energy, and wash time, with parity in wash performance, provides a step towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
Highlights
Wash performance is a balance between temperature, chemistry, time, and mechanical action [1] [2] [3]
An improvement of efficiency of the horizontally rotating drum washing machine is possible by using a more open type of drum, essentially without suds in the annulus, by using a pump to wet the clothes during rotation and fall
The largest drag forces and relative drainage flow occur at the impact of the falling fabric within a rotating drum, at beating and slapping, or when the articles are scrubbed with a brush during hand washing
Summary
Wash performance is a balance between temperature, chemistry, time, and mechanical action [1] [2] [3]. In a horizontal rotating drum laundry appliance, the fabric cannot lose water fast enough to create quick and good washing due to the limited space of the holes in the drum and due to the presence of water in the annulus under the holes at the moment of fall impact of the laundry articles within the drum. An improvement would be to use a very open grating of the drum, suck water from the annulus to replace the water around the drum by air and re-inject the water through the open grating and/or inside the drum to rewet the articles This increased washing machine efficiency enables significant reduction in use of water, chemicals, time, and energy, at comparable or even better wash performance compared to the traditional appliance. Much of this research has been developed and reported internally by the author in 2004-2006 at HPC Unilever
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