EQUIPMENT FOR INTENSIVE WASHING AND DRYING OF MILITARY UNIFORMS IN THE FIELD

Abstract

The task of organizing the laundry and drying of military uniforms in the field is quite a difficult one to implement. Obviously, the washing and drying processes must meet several mandatory conditions. First, these processes must be as fast as possible for obvious reasons. Secondly, they must be energy-efficient, which will make it possible to wash and dry uniforms in the absence of powerful power generators. Third, these processes should consume a limited amount of water and not harm the environment. To meet these requirements, the paper proposes equipment that comprehensively solves the problem. The microwaveheat machine washes and dries military uniforms in a microwave chamber of a non-resonant type, in which a uniform temperature field is created. For this purpose, an absorbent ferrite coating is applied to the inner surface of the chamber and to the perforated partition on which the uniform is placed. It prevents the formation of standing waves and converts the energy of the microwave field into thermal energy. The use of a two-layer ferrite coating to reduce the reflection of the microwave field from the inner surface of the chamber and to increase the fraction of the field energy converted into thermal energy is substantiated for the first time. A method for determining the electrical and magnetic characteristics of both layers of the ferrite coating is also proposed. The design of the microwave chamber for washing and drying includes several additional devices: first, a microwave field energy concentrator on the object to be processed; second, an ultrasonic generator for environmentally safe washing without the use of detergents; third, a vacuum pump to remove air and moisture from the chamber to intensify the drying process; fourth, a heat pump for utilizing thermal energy and drying humid air. Their coordinated functioning, according to calculations, allows solving the problem of