TURBINE BRUSH PIPE CLEANER POC Dave Makufka, DE-TPO, 407-867-3017. NASA's Kennedy Space Center has developed a turbine brush pipe cleaner which is being offered for commercial use through a non-exclusive licensing program. The turbine brush pipe cleaner consists of a circular brush attached in-line to a turbine or propeller within a circular housing sized to fit the diameter of the pipe to be cleaned. Water pressure provide the morivaring force to spin a turbine and, in turn, the circular brush. The water pressure propels the turbine brush downstream. A thin cable is attached to the turbine brush and to retrieve it. The mechanical action of the brush enhances the cleaning action of the fluid. The cleaning solvents are mixed by venturi injection upstream and the turbulence of the spinning turbine. Additional turbulence and enhanced cleaning action can be obtained by entraining air into the flow upstream of the turbine. A magnetic sensor provides rotational and longitudinal positional data of the turbine while contained in any nonmagnetic pipe. Key benefits include the enhanced use of cleaning solvents, the ability of this system to traverse small diameters and 90-degree angles, and the ability to clean piping while in-service. Potential commercial uses include periodic maintenance of water supply lines, removal of ``milkstone'' from dairy lines, corrosion control in steam service lines, in-service cleaning of food processing and pharmaceutical equipment, removal of marine organisms from seawater lines, and postconstruction cleanup of new pipes. A patent application has been filed for this technology. For more information and a copy of the streamlined non-exclusive license agreement, please contact Ranee SooHoo at STAC, the Southeast Regional Technology Transfer Center for NASA (Phone: 904/462-0810, FAX: 904/462-3898).

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