Design of an intelligent duct cleaning robot with force compliant brush

Abstract

Conserving clean air and removing pollutant matters accumulated in the air duct ventilation system of the underground facilities are key issue for protecting from respiratory ailment of people and saving the energy for heating and air conditioning. In fact, indoor air can be contaminated by re-floating accumulated various particular matters in the duct when HVAC works. This study investigates status of dust contaminants inside of subway HVAC duct including various duct cleaning technologies. Particularly, effective cleaning duct method with an autonomous robot is suggested by using simple compliant device to control the force for the brush pushing the inner surface of the duct. Control method of moving brush with compliant device has also been analyzed to blow off the dusts well and to prevent the brush from overloading. The proposed design of automated device is expected to save the time, give a good quality of cleaning the duct for every operator and sustain clean air environment of subway spaces.