A new technology of vehicle parts’ washing at low temperatures

Abstract Ensuring the required reliability of vehicles used in the Arctic is a complicated task. It can be solved only if a holistic approach is taken by manufacturers and companies operating vehicles. In the course of operation, surfaces of vehicles’ parts, components and assemblies become contaminated, which deteriorates operating characteristics and reduces the operating life of the components and the vehicle as a whole. The technical servicing of vehicles includes their maintenance and repair that are impossible without washing and cleaning of components and assemblies’ parts. One of the factors increasing the reliability of a repaired vehicle is the improvement of the efficiency of parts’ washing. Taking this into account, this paper determines the following methods for its implementation: optimization of washing parameters (duration; temperature and composition of a detergent solution (synthetic detergents and their concentration)), and the use of a more effective detergent solution. As an example of such a solution, we considered a 3% solution of MS-8 synthetic detergent with potassium monoborate (PMB) in a concentration of 5 g/l. To determine the influence of PMB on the washing mode, we analyzed the relationship between the detergency and the temperature of solutions with and without PMB. The results confirm that PMB added to the MS-8 solution ensures the required quality of washing at lower temperatures of the detergent solution, thus reducing energy consumption during parts’ washing when repairing vehicle components.