Review on Abrasive Water

Jet Cutting
By Sherif Araby

May 1, 2006
2




3
Terms loosely used to mean abrasive
waterjet or waterjet:
waterjet
water jet
water-jet
water cutter
water jetting
H2O jet
abrasive water jet
Aquajet
hydrojet
JetMachining
Water knife
AWJ (Abrasive water jet)
UHP (Ultra high pressure) abrasive water jet.
Amazing water cutter thingy that cuts steel and stuff (or
"AWCTTCSAS")
4
History of water jet
In California in 1853 to 1886, pressurized water was first
used to excavate soft gold rock from the mining surfaces.
By early 1900s this method of mining had reached Prussia
and Russia. the pressurized water was used to wash blasted
coal away from the mining area.
In the 1930s it was Russia that made the first attempt at
actually cutting the rock with the pressurized water .(p
=700bar)
Dr. Franz was the first person to study the use of ultrahigh-
pressure (UHP) water as a cutting tool in the 1950s.
5
History of water jet
The first waterjet system was sold in 1970 for slicing
corrugated board.
Dr. Mohamed Hashish, regarded as the father of the
abrasive waterjet, invented the process of adding abrasives
to the plain waterjet. He used garnet abrasives
in 1980 and in 1983 the first commercial system with
abrasive entrainment in the jet became available
In year 1986 the world's first mobile ultrahigh-pressure
waterjet pumping system was introduced for mobile and
field applications.

6
Definitions, Parameters & equipments:

Some Definitions:
Attenuator: An attenuator is a pressure vessel that maintains output
pressure for a constant water flow
Jewel: The orifice in which water exits to form the cutting stream.
Kerf: The width of the cutting beam (0.020" to 0.060)
Taper: Taper is the difference between the top profile of the cut verses
the bottom profile
Draft Angle: The angle caused by Taper.
7
Some Definitions
The main causes of taper are
Distance of nozzle from material.
Hardness of material
Speed of cut.: Machine too fast and get taper in one
direction; machine too slow and get taper in the
other direction.
Quality of jet exiting the nozzle. The more focused
the nozzle, the less taper exhibited.
Quality of abrasive used.
Thickness of material
8
Parameters

1. Hydraulic parameters
pump pressure (p)
Water-orifice diameter (d
o
)
2. Cutting parameters:
traverse rate (V)
Number of passes (n
p
)
Stand-off distance (x)
Impact angle ()
3. Mixing and acceleration parameters:
focus diameter (d
F
)
focus length (l
F
)
4. Abrasive parameters:
Abrasive mass-flow rate (m
A
)
Abrasive particle-diameter (d
P
)
Abrasive particle-size distribution (f (d
P
))
Abrasive-particle shape
Abrasive-particle hardness (H
p
)
Abrasive-recycling capacity
9
Parameters that affect the cutting speed
1. Material being cut:
Hardness: Generally, harder materials cut slower than soft
materials. but there are many exceptions.
Thickness: The thicker the material, the slower the
cut
2. Geometry of the part:
It is necessary to slow the cutting down in order to
navigate sharp corners and curves.
3. Desired Result.
4. Power at the nozzle (pressure and water flow rate).
5. Quantity and Quality of abrasive used.
10
Parameters That Affect The Machining
Quality

Feed rate: the slower feed rate the higher tolerance
Acceleration.
Nozzle Focus: focus length, diameter, S.O.D.
Speed of cutting.
Active taper compensation.
Kerf width.
Consistency of Pump Pressure.
Operator experience.
11
COMPONENTS OF AWJ
12
Filtration
First, the water is deionized through a reverse
osmosis process. This removes solids like iron and
calcium.

Next, the water passes through a micro-filtration
system that removes particles down to 0.45 micron.
Its essential to start with very clean water in the
system to maintain the pumps and high pressure seals.
Without it, mineral deposits would develop, break off
and eventually clog vital elements in the system.
13
Pressure Generation System
The ultra high pressure pump called
intensifier.
The intensifier consist of two cylinder
with different diameters.
The piston in large cylinder is driven
by hydraulic oil of pressure 5 to 35
MPa
The oil pushes against the large piston
. A plunger with a face area of 20
times less than the large piston pushes
against the water.
Then the water is pressurized to about
20 times the pressure inside the large
cylinder.
The resulting water pressure reaches
400 Mpa.


14
Shock Attenuator
This large vessel dampens the pressure fluctuations to ensure the
water exiting the cutting head is steady and consistent.
Without the attenuator, the water stream would visibly and audibly
pulse, leaving marks on the material being cut.
Waterjet systems fail in a gradual, rather than instantaneous way.
The seals and connections begin to leak slowly through specially
designed weep holes.
15
High-pressure plumbing
In addition to transporting the high-pressure water, the
plumbing also provides freedom of movement to the
cutting head.
The most common type of high-pressure plumbing is
special stainless steel tubing.
Ts, straight connectors, elbows, shut off valves and
swivels may be required.
16
Nozzle
A jewel (sapphire, ruby, or
diamond) is a fixed to the end
of the plumbing tubing.

Jet stream creates a partial
vacuum that draws the flow of
abrasive.

Abrasive used most often is
crushed garnet.

Boride nozzle used for long
life.
17
Abrasive particles and water mixing system

the abrasive particles are fed into the side of the jet, after it formed
sped up by the jet and delivered to the work piece
There are many mechanisms for abrasive feed and mixing with water :
Particle Water Premix.
Abrasive Particle Gravity Feed
Forced Air Particle Feed
18
The motion system

There must be a relative
motion between the tool
and the work piece,
except in drilling.

In some cases; the jet is
stationary and the work
piece is movable

In other cases :the work
piece is stationary and
the jet is movable.
19
Recycling System

Provide a means of recycling abrasive
which accounted for up to 65% of total
operating cost of running the AWJ

The recycled abrasive is washed and dried
Recovery of 20 to 60% or Garnet
Enhanced properties of recovered Garnet
Triple recycle is now possible

20
21
Some of the benefits to using
waterjet:
Satin smooth finish without gasses or oils
Cut virtually any material
Setup/Fixturing involves placing the material on the table
Make all sorts of shapes with only one tool.
Cut wide range of thickness to tolerance up to 2 thick.
Up to 5 or thicker where tolerance not important, or in soft
material.
No Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) - this is cold cutting!
No mechanical stresses
No tool change required
Material yield is maximized
Burr-free edge quality
Eliminates most secondary operations
22
What about the competition?
When comparing with Lasers:
Abrasive waterjets (AWJ) can machine reflective
materials like Aluminum and Copper.
AWJ do not heat your part
Uniformity of material is not very important
Maintenance is simpler on nozzle
AWJ dont loose much focus when cutting over
uneven surfaces.
AWJ are safer and more environment friendly

23
When comparing with EDM:
AWJ are much faster than EDM
Machines a wider variety of materials
Does not heat the surface of the part
AWJ are capable of ignoring material aberrations
that would cause wire EDM to lose flushing
AWJ make their own pierce holes
24
What can it cut?
Foam
GIO phenolic
Steel
Armor plating
Urethane
Titanium
Kevlar
Aluminum
Linen phenolic
Brass
Neoprene
Copper
Stainless steel
Spectra
Fiberglass
Corrugated cardboard
Acrylic
Ceramic tile
Wood
Rubber
Glass
Marble and granite.
25
Some of AWJ Products
26
Some of AWJ Products
27
Disadvantages
- While it is possible to cut tool steels, and other hard materials, the cutting
rate has to be greatly reduced, and the time to cut a part can be very long.
- Another disadvantage is that very thick parts can not be cut with waterjet
cutting and still hold dimensional accuracy. If the part is too thick, the jet
may dissipate some, and cause it to cut on a diagonal, or to have a wider
cut at the bottom of the part than the top.
- Taper is also a problem with waterjet cutting in very thick materials. Taper
is when the jet exits the part at a different angle than it enters the part.
28
Applications:

Printed Circuit Boards
Wire Stripping
Food Preparation
Tool Steel
Wood Cutting
Cleaning Applications
Chapter 2
Theory &
parameters
of machining
for AWJ


30
Introduction:
To convert the tape to a tool can cut
material you must make three steps:
1- Deionization the water:
2- Micro filtration process:
3- Pressurizing the filtered
water:

31
After that the water could cut soft
material. as corrugated card board,
Rubber , pulp of paper ,plastics,

If we add some solids (abrasives) ,
the jet becomes able to cut hard
materials as titanium alloys, ceramics,
composites.

Introduction:
32
Theory of machining:
For the waterjet:

The water is pressured to 400 MPa.
Now can reach (690 Mpa)

This elevated pressurized water is
transferred to the air pressure through
a very small orifice (jewel).

According to Bernolli equation this
highly elevated pressure (potential
energy) is converted into a very high
velocity about 900m/s (kinetic
energy).

This highly kinetic energy produces
very high impulsive force which
could cut many soft materials.

33
abrasive waterjet:



the water is filtered & pressurized as in WJ






the water is filtered & pressurized as in the WJ .

Abrasives are added to the stream of the water after it passes
through the nozzle sapphire orifice.

These abrasives are accelerated by the water to a high velocity that
provides high erosive forces (impulsive force).

This force produced by the abrasives can cut hard materials AS
titanium alloys and ceramics.



34
abrasive waterjet
Abrasives are added to the stream of the water after it passes
through the nozzle sapphire orifice.

These abrasives are accelerated by the water to a high
velocity that provides high erosive forces (impulsive force).

This force produced by the abrasives can cut hard materials
titanium alloys and ceramics.

The role of water in the AWJ is to accelerate the abrasives to a
speed make them able to machine.

Also its function is to remove the eroded material and the spent
abrasives from the machined area.

35
Material removal rate

Types of erosion that affects on the machined surface are shown in
the flow chart :
36
Material removal rate


These erosions are affected in combination not
separately on the target material.

which one is dominant depend on;

1- abrasive particle shape
2- impact angle
3- abrasive hardness
4- target material properties
5- particle kinetic energy (its velocity)
37

it must be known that not all the kinetic energy is used for
cutting.
there is part dissipated in the impact and other part is
absorbed by the target material while impacting.
The impact angle affects the amount of energy that absorbed by
target material.


Solid-particle material
removal characteristics
Material removal
rate
38
Effect of water in cutting


The target material is exposed firstly to high velocity abrasives
making micro cracks in the surface of the material.

At this time the high velocity water has no effect or its effect n
ot significant as abrasives especially for the hard material.

The high velocity water enters the micro cracks.

The water produces high stress on the wall of the micro crack
greater than the material resistance.
39
Effect of water in cutting

These stresses make the micro crack to propagate and
growth occurs.
Now the micro crack become large and the high velocity
abrasives could enters these cracks
At this time the cutting be effective and grows more
rapidly.
By this way the water act as a supportive force besides
the abrasive force.
The figure shows the
profile of water that
enters the crack
40
Material removal rate


Transition velocity:

When the material is precracked , the water stream will
produce an erosive force that causes the cracks to
propagate.

But to be the water able to make the crack propagate, it
must have a certain velocity.

This velocity called the transition velocity.

This is the minimum velocity for the water at which the
water could make the micro cracks to propagate
41
Material removal rate

Below this value the water stream couldnt produce the
force that is able to over come the material resistance
and make the crack to grow.

At this moment the abrasive material must produce
crack propagation

The transition velocity depend on the target material
properties; hardness, surface properties (roughness).
42
Material removal rate


Example: The grey cast iron transition velocity is 200 m/s

To describe the efficiency of cutting we calculate the contact
number CN:

o C
N
= number of particles removed / number of abrasive
particles

The values of C
N
=1, C
N
>1, C
N
<1.

43
Macro mechanisms of material removal:
Surface Topography:

By inspection, it is found that:

The cutting marks change along the cutting surface
They are straight striation marks along the cutting
surface to about quarter of the cutting depth.

44
Surface Topography:
After that the marks are being curved marks.

Most of the researchers approximate these curves to be
a parabola.

The se curves are due to the jet lag due to energy
losses.

These curves means that the maximum depth of cut is
reached.
45
Surface-Profile Inspections:
The cutting surface integrity is measured in
the axis that is perpendicular
to the direction of cutting.
The figure shown reveals the surface
roughness at different depths.
the roughness of the surface increases
with getting down along the
depth of cut.

46
Energy Balance Model for Material
Removal

The energy balance concept is the basic for this
model.
The AWJ hits the target material was E
A
.
The AWJ exits the material with energy E
ex
.
The difference between these two energies is
the energy dissipated through the cutting
process .(friction , impact, damping, cutting,...)
E
dis
= E
A
E
ex

47
Energy Balance Model for Material
Removal

To determine the cutting efficiency () we measure the depth of cut
that made by the jet (h).



If h=0 there is no cutting (all the energy dissipated in other forms
except cutting ).

If h < h
max
there is part of the energy that lost without any use.

If h = h
max
all the energy used for making the cutting process.
48
The energy dissipated in removing the
material (making depth of cut) is :
E
diss
() = X() ( E
A
E
ex
)
X()=0 for h=0
X()=1 for h=h
max

X()<1 for h<h
max

49
Damping effects for the material
removal:

The positive role for the water:
1-it accelerates the abrasive particles when they
enters the mixing chamber Increasing its kinetic
energy.

2-Wash the work area from the removed material
debris and the spent abrasive particles.

3-Provide crack propagation provided that its
velocity greater than transition velocity.
50
Damping effects for the material
removal:

The negative role:
it makes a thin film over the cutting area which damping
the velocity of the particles and hence decreases its
kinetic energy and hence affects the cutting depth.

This effect very significant at low speeds and when the
film consists of water and solids. this film may decrease
the velocity to the third.

This effect can be measured by measuring the ratio
between the impulsive force for dry surface and the
impulsive force for wet surface
51
Damping effects for the material removal:


The figure shows the effect of the particle velocity on the force ratio.


There is a critical speed after
which the damping effect can
be ignored.
Vcr =370 m/s. for grey cast iron
52
Damping effects for the material removal:

Also the shape of the particle affects the
damping force ratio.
The sharper the particle, the less the effect
This is shown in the figure below
53
Heat Generation

Sources of Heat Generation
The friction and impact between abrasive particle
themselves.
The friction between the particle and the focus tube
wall.
The friction between the particles and the front
surface of the target material.
The plastic deformation occurs in the machined
material to making the cut.
54
Heat Generation
Heat generated depends on the pump pressure and the
exposure time.

Although this generated heat the
AWJM still cold machining.
The maximum temperature
observed was 120 F
o
(50C
o
)
when cutting tool steel.

55
Design Considerations For WJM
Basic Fluid Mechanics Behind The Formation Of High
Speed Water Jets:
The basic theory by which the jet properties (velocity ,
pressure,) are controlled is the theory of energy
conservation or Bernolli equation.

energy conservation theory is

Work = Change in Energy

P
2
P
1
= 0.5 . (v
2
2
v
1
2
) + g. (h
2
- h
1
)
56
Basic Fluid Mechanics
Bernolli equation states



The right hand side refers to the energy of the jet
just before exit the orifice
- The left hand side refers to the energy of the jet
immediately after it has exit the orifice nozzle.
Because of P >>> P
atom
V
o
>>> V
pipe
57
Basic Fluid Mechanics
Because of P >>> P
atom
V
o
>>> V
pipe
h
1
= h
2
then

th refers to theoretical value. Because the real value is
real than this value.
Due to the friction effect, the orifice shape, the fluid flow
disturbance.
Then V0 = . V0th
is a constant ranges between 0.8 to 0.98
58
Jet profile after exiting from the orifice

The figure below shows the stream spread
profile and the velocity profile
59
Jet profile after exiting from the orifice
The velocity profile can be divided into two zones.
1. core zone :
this zone is immediately after the nozzle.
Its length (X
C
) is about 20 to 150 times nozzle diameter.
the velocity distribution and hence the stagnation pressure
are uniform.
the velocity has a conical shape profile which its maximum
velocity at the center line.
the radius of the conical shape decreases with increasing
the distance from the nozzle exit.
60
Jet profile after exiting from the
orifice
transition zone :

it is the zone after the core zone .
its length (x
tr
) is about 90 to 600 times nozzle diameter.
In this region the air is sucked into the jet hence the
density decreases.
The velocity profile has bell shape which its height
(maximum velocity) decreases with increasing in the
distance from the nozzle exit.
61
Jet profile after exiting from the orifice
the density of the jet is produced by an empirical function which is



Figure(1) shows that the diameter the spread of the jet increases
with increasing in the distance along the axial distance.

Figure(2) shows the air content in the jet along the axial distance.
Figure (2)
Figure (1)
62
Introducing of Abrasive
Particles into Jet:
The abrasives are introduced into the
waterjet after the jet is formed i.e. after it
passes through the orifice .but in special
cases it introduced before it passes
through it.
The abrasives enter the jet in the mixing
chamber and then enter the focus tube.
The abrasives are introduced into the jet
from the side where the velocity is small.
Once the abrasives are enters the focus
tube, the jet stream picks up them, the jet
velocity is slowed down.
63
Introducing of Abrasive
Particles into Jet
The design and the assembly of the nozzle and the focus
tube are shown in the figure below.

64
The phases inside the AWJ:

There are three phases inside the jet
stream:
solid phase : abrasive particles
liquid phase : water
gas phase : air.
The phase that is unwanted is the gas
phase.
65
The phases inside the AWJ:

The phase that is unwanted is the gas phase.
It is responsible for the decreasing the density of the mixture stream.
the air volume flow rate increases with the increase in the focus diameter
and length , and decreases with increase in abrasive mass flow rate.
This is illustrated in the figures below.
66
Focus tube flow:
the abrasives particles enter the jet from the side.
this make disturbance in the water flow and increase
its turbulence (Reynolds number).
the velocity of the particles is at an angle with the
focus tube axis.
So there are two components for the particle velocity
1- component in the direction of the water stream along
the axis of the tube ( this required)
2- components perpendicular to tube axis .

67
Focus tube flow
These two components are not the same for every
particle lead to:

impact with the tube wall
impact with them themselves

fragmentation for some particles will occur , affect
the kinetic energy and cutting quality.

researchers (Simonin, Dremer,..) want to get a good
performance by producing alignment.

this alignment affects the performance of the jet
68
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
some of abrasives fragment wile exiting from the
focusing tube, which means that the particle
diameter exits the focus tube is less than the
abrasive enters the tube.

The parameter that refers to the fragmentation of
the abrasives is

D
= 1- d
pout
/d
pin
This is called a disintegration number
this number ranges from 1 to 0

69
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
The parameters that affect the disintegration
number are:
1. pump pressure (related to the velocity of the
particles).
2. the impact angle ().
3. Focus diameter
4. Focus length
5. Particle size
6. Abrasive mass flow rate

70
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
The pump pressure:
71
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
Impact angle effect:
72
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
The focus tube geometry
73
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
Particle size (diameter):
74
Fragmentation of abrasive particles
Abrasive mass flow rate:
75
Characteristics of abrasive
waterjet:
the jet stream consist of
three phases :
liquid (water)
solid (abrasives)
gas ( entrapped air)
what is effect of the introducing
of abrasives in the water jet?
Decreasing velocity
Increasing turbulence
Increasing the width of the
jet .
The change in the jet diameter
with increasing in the A.M.F.R
76
Characteristics of abrasive waterjet:
Phase distribution
the phase distribution changes in two dimensions
(radial, axial).
so, the study of the percent of each phase must be
made in the two directions.
the figure shown reveals the different zones in the
jet after exiting the focus tube:
77
Phase distribution:
There is three zones:
Core zone: circle of radius equal to the water
orifice diameter (jet diameter)..

Inner zone : annulus has a minor diameter
of the core zone and the outer diameter equal
to the focus tube diameter.

Outer zone: the zone beyond the inner zone
.
78
Phase distribution:
It is clear that immediately after
the nozzle exit in the inner zone,
maximum percent of abrasives
about (85%) and the remaining
in the other zones.

After about 5 mm from the
nozzle there is about 45% in the
inner zone and 45% in the outer
zone.

And so the percent of the
abrasives increases in the outer
zone with increasing in the
distance from the nozzle.

79
Phase distribution:
the content of the abrasives in the core zone affected
by:
the pump pressure .
the abrasives mass flow rate.
80
Phase distribution:
also the content of air in the jet is about 90% from point of
view of volume
the air content increases with increasing in the pump pressure.
from point of view of the mass the air content is about 3%
and the water 74% and abrasives is about 23%.
81
Characteristics of abrasive waterjet:
Abrasive water jet flow disturbance

As mentioned later the introducing of abrasives in the water
jet increases the disturbance in the flow and hence increase
the turbulence in the flow.
This turbulence is defined by the correlation coefficient

T
U
=

Of course this coefficient for AWJ is much greater than it
for WJ
P
V
V
P
o
82
Abrasive water jet flow disturbance
Turbulence Profile for the Abrasive Water Jet compared to Water Jet.
83
Abrasive water jet flow disturbance
- The Turbulence in the flow is affected by the focus
tube diameter and the focus length:

84
Abrasive water jet flow disturbance
The velocity of the abrasive particle is given by the
density function :
Typical value of v
p
=250 m/s and the =41.4m/s
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
P
P
V
P P
V
P
V V
Exp f
V 2
2
2
) (
2
1
) (
o
to
P
V o
85
Process Parameter Definitions
1-hydraulic parameters .

2-cutting parameters.

3-mixing abrasives
parameters.

4-abrasive parameters
Figure shows the different parameters of
the AWJM process
86
Hydraulic Parameters
Hydraulic parameters concerns with pump pressure and orifice
diameter.
The pump pressure is the main cause of cutting.

This high pressure (potential energy) converts to high velocity jet
(kinetic energy).
This high velocity jet results in momentum which gives the
impulsive force that cuts the material
Abrasives are added to the jet after it is formed.
These abrasives are accelerated by the jet to a high velocity
This high velocity abrasive water jet gives high impulsive force.

The above statements explain why the pump pressure is the main cause
of cutting.
87
Hydraulic Parameters
Then the depth of cut
is a function in the
pump pressure.

The figure shown
shows the effect of
the pump pressure
on the depth of cut

88
Hydraulic Parameters
Threshold Pressure
This pressure differs for different material and depend on the many factors.
Researchers have explained by experiments results
some of these factors
such as:

1. the traverse speed
of the jet.
89
Hydraulic Parameters
2. the focusing tube length:
90
Hydraulic Parameters
3. The abrasive mass flow rate
91
Cutting Parameters
1. Traverse Rate
The dependence of the
depth of cut on th
traverse rate that the
slower the jet is, the
deeper the cut
obtained
92
Traverse Rate
The relation between traverse rate and cut depth can be modeled
by the equation:
C
8
ranges from -0.4 to -1.0


due to the fact that at a certain traverse rate, called critical speed,
there is no cutting the equations above dont take this principle
into account. so the equation is modified into:



Vcr the critical speed at which the cutting depth is zero.
93
Traverse Rate
Amount of material removal rate depends on
the cut depth and its length .
Then the M.R.R. depend on the traverse rate
The slope of the curve
decreases after a certain
value of traverse rate.
There is a value of
traverse rate after which
the metal removal rate
decreases.

94
Traverse Rate
Also the depth of cut is
influenced by the exposure
time which also related to
the traverse rat.
the figure shows this
dependence.
From the figure the slope
of the curve changes after a
certain time .
95
Traverse Rate
Also The number of
passes affects the depth
of cut.

this is shown in the
figure.

The curve was at first
straight but after that its
slope decreases
96
Cutting Parameters
2. Stand off distance
It may expected that the
depth of cut in inversely
proportional with the
stand off distance.

This is shown in the
figure.
97
Cutting Parameters
3. The impact angle:

The influence of the impact angle on depth of cut is shown
below in these figures for the brittle and ductile materials
The optimum
impact angle
that gives high
depth of cut
equals 80
o

98
Mixing parameters
There are two parameters are
1. focus diameter
2. focus length

Volume removal rate increases with increasing in the focus
length to a certain limit.
The focus length produces a chance for the jet to pick up the
abrasives into it and accelerate
their speed to the maximum
speed the abrasives can reach.

There is an optimum focus
length after which the depth
of cut will decrease.(25-50
nozzle diameter).
99
Mixing parameters
the focus diameter increases the cutting rate but after a
certain diameter the curve inverses .this figure shows
this behavior.
Ductile-Behaving Material b Brittle-Behaving Material
100
Abrasive particle parameters:

1. Abrasive mass flow rate:

The increase in the mass flow rate of
abrasives increases the no. of particles
that share in the total kinetic energy of the
jet.
Then the depth of cut increases with the
increase in the abrasive mass flow rate.
This increase in the mass flow rate is
strained with the particle to- particle
impact
at low A.M.F.R. the dominant effect is the
increase in the total particle kinetic
energy.
at high A.M.F.R. the number of particles
increases much and the impact between
them increases this increases the loss in
the kinetic energy which will be dominant
over the increase in the kinetic energy for
the particles .

101
Abrasive mass flow rate:


Then there is an optimum
A.M.F.R. that gives the most
high depth of cut.

This depth of cut depend
upon:

Pump pressure:
102
Abrasive mass flow rate:


2. the focus tube diameter
103
Abrasive mass flow rate:


3. focus tube length
104
Abrasive particle parameters:

2. Abrasive particle diameter

the depth of cut and also the
cutting rate increases with the
increase in the abrasive diameter.

This increase is stopped at
certain value after which the
depth of cut decreases with the
increases in abrasive diameter.

This is shown in the figure
below:
105
Future Research

Several other improvements and experiments that are being
worked on by other companies are:
1. Controlling the depth of cut
2. Increasing pressures
3. Finding new abrasives
4. Increasing nozzle life
5. New control technology
6. Using a cryogenic cutting fluid
7. Finding new uses for waterjet cutting such as turning, and
polishing
8. Finding new ways to make waterjet cutting more efficient in
already existing manufacturing processes
106




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