Power Tools:Verify that Safety Guards are fitted and operational

Dust collection systems are operational when working the hazardous materials
Abrasive Blast:Ensure that following are installed and in working in order- Dead man valve
- Pressure control valves
- Adequate moisture and oil separators
- Protective clothing
- Filtered and regulated air-supplied respirator
- Entire system is grounded, including hoses, operator, and work piece
- House couplings are wired shut
- Abrasive hose is stored in a dry place
- Nozzle is never pointed at human body or breakable object
- Abrasive hose is inspected for damage and wear
Dehumidification:Dehumidification is defined as the removal of moisture vapor from the air to lower its dew point.
Heating the air does not change its moisture content, which is a quantity of vapor, but it does improve its
ability to hold more moisture vapor; and thus, it decreases its relative humidity. Cooling the air reduces the
ability to hold moisture vapor and, thus increases its relative humidity.
The temperature to which the air has been cooled enough to be saturated and capable of producing dew
is called Dew point temperature.
Most coatings cannot be applied successfully when the relative humidity is <90% because the solvent
evaporation rate decreases at higher relative humidity and reaches zero evaporation rate at 100% relative
humidity. This condition can result in solvent entrapment in the applied film, together with an impaired cure
process, and is likely to cause subsequent coating failure in the form of blistering or severe peeling.
The objective of dehumidification is to reduce the rate of corrosion to minimal levels by reducing
the moisture content of the air to a safe level, 50% or less, at the prevailing temperature.
Centrifugal wheel Blast Cleaning:Centrifugal blast cleaning, or wheel blasting, is used in a variety of cleaning, finishing
and peening operations. The coating inspector generally will be most concerned with such blast cleaning
operations in:- Shop operations, where a variety of steel plates, pipes and fabricated pieces are cleaned.
- Field operations, where new or used large, flat concrete or steel surfaces are cleaned.
Basic Elements of the Blast System:- The heart of the system, the centrifugal abrasive throwing wheel, which throws abrasives in a controlled
pattern against the work to be done.
- The blast cabinet (enclosure), which confines the abrasive as it is thrown from the wheel and prevents
the fines and dust generated by the blast from escaping.
- In fixed systems, some type of material handling system which conveys the work piece to the wheels.
- The abrasive recycling system, which separates and returns the good abrasives to a storage hopper for
reuse through the wheel

A dust collector and vent-pipe system for ventilating the blast cabinet and operating the air-wash
separator.
Abrasive of the proper type, size and mix for the job to be done.

Basic Operating Principles:- Abrasives flows by gravity from an overhead storage hopper through a speed spout and into a rotating
impeller.
- The quantity of the flowing abrasive is controlled by metering valves in the supply line.
- The impeller directs the abrasive through an opening in the impeller case on the rotating vanes of the
blast wheels.
- The motor-driven wheel throws the abrasive by centrifugal force against the work piece
- After striking the work piece , the abrasives falls in to a recovery hopper along with such contaminants
as sand, scale, old coating etc. which have been removed from the work piece being cleaned
- The abrasive handling system lifts the contaminated abrasives up into the air wash separator above the
blast machine.
- The air-wash separator removes the contaminants and any abrasive particles that have become too small
to be useful
- The cleaned and sized abrasive is returned to the storage hopper for reuse, completing the cycle
Air-Wash separator:Medium or large capacity units for descaling operations are usually equipped with a distributing screw
above the air wash separator, which evenly distributes the abrasive mixture along the entire length of the
separator lip.
For foundry applications with coarse scrap or core wires in the abrasive mixture, the separator may be
fitted with both a distributing screw and a scalping drum. The drum, fitted with an internal screw,
provides a screening process for removal of scrap, while the external screw gives total distribution along
the separator lip.
The functions of the separator are:- To controlling the sizing of the abrasive mix, which influences cleaning efficiency
- To remove sand, spent abrasives (fines), rust dirt and any other contaminants from the abrasive stream
so that only good, clean abrasive is fed to the blast machine.
- To control abrasive consumption, which can be measured by the size of abrasive pellets removed from
the machine.
Advantages of centrifugal blast cleaning are:- Dust and fines from the blast operation are contained and held for easy disposal
- Abrasive is easily recycled
- In some shops, the process of blasting and priming
- In general, centrifugal blast cleaning is more economical compared with air or nozzle blast cleaning
- Air compressors, piping and air control equipment are not needed for the actual wheel blast operation
Disadvantages:- The initial coast of shop equipment is relatively high
- The equipment is mechanically complex, with high wear on the moving parts
- Surface contaminants may be driven into the work piece, particularly when steel shot is used
- It may be difficult to completely clean complex fabricated shapes

Components of the Blast System:- Blast Wheel:The wheel design may be vary with the individual manufacturer, however they all function in the
same manner, as described below.
- The AC or DC motor-driven wheel, fitted with adjustable, removable vanes, hurls the abrasive by
centrifugal force onto the surface of the work piece
- Abrasive from an overhead hopper is fed to the centre of the wheel unit, which is rotating at the high
speed
- A cast-alloy impeller rotates with the wheel, imparts initial velocity to the abrasive particles, and carries
the abrasive to an opening in the stationary cage from which it is discharged on to the wheel vanes.
- A abrasive is picked by the inner ends of the vanes and is rapidly accelerated as it moves to the outside
edge of the wheel and on to the surface of the work piece
The location of the opening at the edge of the control cage establishes the direction of the blast pattern
generated by the wheel. As little as 10% misalignment of the pattern location can reduce cleaning efficiency
by 25% or more
Efficiency of the wheel:
Because the wheels are central to proper functioning of the wheel blast unit, they must be properly adjusted
and maintained. The efficiency of the wheel, however, depends upon other factors, including:. Abrasive opening mix
. Size of the abrasives
. Velocity of the abrasives coming of the wheel
. Quantity and direction of the thrown abrasives
. Condition of the feed parts (feed spout, impeller, impeller case, and vanes)
Abrasives:The abrasive blast machine cleans best with use of a range of abrasive. The largest particle size will be that
of the newly added abrasive. The smallest particle size is determined by filter meshes in the recycling
equipment.
Large particle impact the surface to loosen scale, sand, etc. And the smaller particle clean small
irregularities and scour the surfaces, removing loosened particles so the work is thoroughly and uniformly
cleaned.
Maintaining a well-balanced operating mix (sometimes called a working mix) of various size of abrasives
will:
- provide consistency of finish on work being cleaned
- Ensure uniform abrasive coverage of the work
- Ensure conditioning of the abrasive for optimum cleaning
- Minimize lowest abrasives and machine part-wear and reduce downtime for maintains
Abrasive selection:
Wheel blast operations make use of a variety of blast media, including agricultural products and synthetic
products such as glass beads, aluminum oxides and slags. However steel shots and grit are used most
commonly in preparing steel and concrete for coating.
The work to be cleaned and the desired finish determine the use of steel shot or grit

Steel shot may be the best blast cleaning, peening or descaling abrasive available. Shot breaks up heat
treat and such scales as mill scale, or will wear sand away from castings. Because of its toughness and ideal
hardness (44 to 46 Rockwell c), steel shot does not fracture readily. Shot is round when new and, after
fracturing, again balls up to a round shape after repeated impacts.
Steel grit is best for etching that is creating surface profile prior to painting or plating or for cleaning hard
alloys, brightening nonferrous parts, for mill rolls or heat treated parts, or any application where a
roughened grit blast surface is required or desired. Angular steel grit can range in hardness from 45 to 65
Rc. Because steel shots tends to open, rather than scour, the surface, an operating mix of shot and grit
frequently is used to achieve greater cleanliness and surface profile
Steel grit often is substituted for shot. Medium hardness grits are used to obtain a sharper etch on the steel
surface, or for removing tenacious scale from alloy steels. Brightness of the abrasive increases the hardness
so the harder grits fracture readily, retain angularity, and result in higher abrasive consumption and wear of
machine parts.
Ferrous abrasive may leave trace amounts of metal on the substrate and should not be used on substrate on
which they could induce corrosion. For e.g. If a Stainless steel substrate is blast cleaned with an iron or steel
abrasive, the stainless steel may corrode due to the loss of passivation.