Cleaning simulations are a tool for optimizing cleaning processes. They are based on models that take into account the soil and its interaction with the cleaning fluid. For pure particulate soils, the dominant cleaning mechanism is adhesive detachment. The fluid uptake and the resulting swelling of the particles have a decisive influence on their adhesive strength to the substrate, which consequently affects the cleaning process.
A particulate soil was characterized with respect to its geometric dimensions before and during swelling in water. The height increase was used to parameterize a three-dimensional finite element model (FEM). Subsequently, the FEM simulation delivered the water content at the soil-substrate-interface. Micromanipulation tests were conducted to determine the adhesive strength. A correlation between the latter two was implemented in a cleaning simulation to predict cleaning time, taking into account the variability of particle properties.