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Dry-ice blasting is a marvel of physics. It generates massive abrasive force without tearing up delicate structures, slough off tough materials without any caustic effects, and tackles huge jobs with no cleanup. These feats owe to three physical forces.

1. Kinetic Energy

TheDry Ice-Blasting key to the cleaning power of dry-ice blasting is kinetic impact force. That’s the energy generated by each dry ice pellet when it collides with the wall. Kinetic impact force is a factor of the velocity and mass of each pellet. Coupled with the special nozzles used in the dry-ice blasting industry, these tiny pellets of CO2 hit walls with massive force, causing them to sublimate—turn into a gas—immediately upon impact. What happens next multiplies the cleaning force.

2. Thermal Shock

When the supersonically-projected pellet makes contact with the surface, imagine the result as a tiny explosion. The wall absorbs the energy as heat, the outermost layer getting the most. If you’ve ever poured cold water into a hot glass or pan, you’ve already seen the result of thermal shock, in effect. The difference in temperature creates huge shearing force, removing whatever sits on top of the surface. Since the dry ice pellets turn to gas and disperse so quickly, though, there isn’t enough time for the heat to penetrate into the surface. Only the topmost layer—the stuff you’re trying to clean off—is removed.

3. Lifting Force

There’s another side to that little explosion. When a pellet sublimates against the surface, the gas doesn’t bounce off the same way the pellet was fired: instead, it spreads out over the front of the surface. If you could see it in slow motion, it’d look like a smoke ring. That ring expands so quickly that it dips right into the micro-cracks made by the thermal shock effect. Whatever you wanted gone is shorn off clean. From hardened industrial waste to spray paint, this cocktail of physical forces makes quick work of a project with no extra cleanup.

 

Businesses from Manhattan to Massachusetts rely on Dry Ice Blasting of Westchester for everything from surface restoration to hazardous material cleanup. Zero-cleanup dry-ice blasting gives them safer, more efficient cleanups. Leave your next cleanup to them by calling (914) 216-1998 or visiting their website.

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