Offices: The Netherlands Leeghwaterstraat 21 2628 CA Delft Tel.: +31 15 278 2907 Germany Weenermoorer Str. 193 26826 Weener Tel.: +49 4953 922 969 Consultancy for Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics CFD makes fluid dynamics visible. We solve every Flow problem. Silica Nova develops, manufactures and markets systems to clean play-grounds  carpet with sanded artificial grass. The Silicair®-cleaning system is based on a  pipe network through which air is pressed to a large number of nozzles by a high  power compressor. The resulting air jets penetrate deeply into the grass,  crushing the fouling, blow them away and finally dries the cleaned area. In most  cases regular cleaning with the Silicair®-method delays the need for a  replacement of the grass layer significantly. Motivated by the commercial  success of the Silicair®-cleaning system Silica Nova has decided to develop a  system with a much larger cleaning capacity. FlowMotion has done the feasibility  study for this development project concerning from a fluid dynamical point of  view. The flow through pipelines generates fluid dynamical drag, which is caused by  friction at the walls, bend, valves and flanges. This fluid dynamical drag leads to  pressure drop in the system, which is often referred to as pipeline losses  or  resistance height. The pressure drop is equivalent to the pumping pressure  required to transport the fluid through the system with the current flow rate.  To dimension the pipeline system, the  relations between flow rate and pressure drop  for the different components need to be  known. With the help of these relations the  required pressure of the compressor for each  operating condition can be calculated before  the new machine is actually build.  To link the practical experience about the way  of working of the Silicair®-cleaning system to  the internal fluid dynamical effects within the pipes and jets, a large  experimental study for the relation between the velocity and the static pressure in the different sections of the system  has been performed. From this data a realistic model of the system could be developed to determine the dimensions of the new Silicair®-  cleaning system and to estimate the expected increased cleaning capacity. In particular by fluid dynamically optimized  positioning of the different components of the system the internal drag can significantly be reduced. Thus an increased  cleaning capacity can be achieved without replacing the current compressor, which reduces the development costs  dramatically. Jets on the Playground Feasibilty study for a capacity increase for a cleaning maschine for sports courts SILICA NOVA BV www.silicanova.nl before cleaning after cleaning