Author(s)

Pieter Broer van der Weg (Peter)

Retired, VU Amsterdam, Shell R & D Rijswijk, Stork DI Boxmeer, Unilever R & D Vlaardingen, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.

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.

Drum, Wash, Machine, Design, Efficiency, Poroelastics, Darcy, Simulation, Modelling

Weg (Peter), P. (2020) Reduction of Environmental Impact of Drum Machine Washing. Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, 8, 132-157. doi: 10.4236/jamp.2020.81011.