ABRASIVE WATER JET

MACHINING

Prepared by:
Jaivesh .D. Gandhi
Assistant Professor
S.V.M.I.T,. Bharuch

Introduction

Jet of mixture of water and abrasive particles

removes material.
Pressure :100 Mpa, Upper limit of velocity: 900m/s.
Cutting upper part of kerf: Erosive Action
Cutting lower part of kerf: Deformation
Machine used
1.

2.

Non Metals : Ceramics, composites, Rocks, etc

Metals: copper, Aluminium, WC, Lead, etc

Operations : Drilling, cutting, Deburring etc

Can cut any kind of material, Recycling of abrasives,
etc

Elements of AWJM system

1)
2)
3)
4)

Pumping system
Abrasive feed system
Abrasive water jet nozzle
Catcher

1. Pumping system

Intensifier: 415 Mpa,

75 HP motor
High velocity jet

2. Abrasive feed system

Delivers dry feed abrasives

To control flow rate ;;;;;; Control orifice diameter
Cannot supply abrasives over long distanced;;;;;; so
use direct slurry ;;;;to feed over a long distance ;;;;
more power required.
Water jet nozzle diameter: 0.075 to 0.65 mm
For a long life of a nozzle: Sapphire

3. Abrasive water jet nozzle

Functions : 1. Mixing of water and Abrasives

2. Forming high velocity jet
Materials : WC, Boron carbide, Sapphire
Type :
1.

2.

Single jet side feed nozzle

Multiple jets central feed nozzle

Cont.
1.Single jet side feed nozzle

Simple to make
Rapid wear of exit part
Non- optimal mixing efficiency

Single jet side feed nozzle

Cont.
2.Multiple jet central feed nozzle

Centrally located Abrasive feed system

Surrounded by multiple water jets;;;;;; Converging
Annulus.
Higher nozzle life and better mixing
Difficult and costly to fabricate.

Multiple jet central feed nozzle

Abrasive jet nozzle

4. Catcher

Stationary nozzle and moving w/p

Long

narrow tube placed under the point of cut

Moving nozzle and stationary w/p

A

filled water filled settling tank underneath the w/p

Process Parameters

Water: Flow rate and Pressure

Abrasives : Type, size and Flow rate
Water nozzle and abrasive jet nozzle
Cutting Parameters : Feed rate and SOD
w/p materials
Mixing tube : Diameter and Length
Traverse speed
Number of passes

Water jet pressure

Critical pressure(Pc ) : Below that pressure no cutting

Different

metals different Pc

Above a definite jet pressure : Machined depth

tends to stabilize
Relationship between jet pressure and Machined
depth : Steeper with higher abrasive flow rate

Increased pressure:

1.

Higher nozzle wear rate

2. Higher cost of pump maintenance

3. Lower efficiency

Water flow rate

Water : Propelling fluid enables high abrasive flow

rate(up to 5 kg/min).Gas have maximum(100 gm/min)
Abrasive velocity up to 300 m/s
AWJm : Coherent hence more suitable for cutting

Q p

or Q dn2

Abrasive flow rate

Machined depth ( Vp2 m)

Above m. Reduced machined depth
Increase in m. 1. Increase wear of mixing nozzle
2. Decreasing mixing efficiency

Abrasive particle size

Optimum particle size for particular material and

particular mixing chamber configuration.
Finer particles: For shallow depth of cut
Coarse particles: For higher depth of cut

Different abrasives sizes for different depths of cut.

Abrasive Materials

Types of Abrasives
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Garnet sand
Silicon sand
Glass bead
Aluminium oxide
Silicon Carbide

Selection of Abrasive material depends on

following factors: Production Cost, Wear rate,
Environment constraints, Machining rate, Strength of
particles

Traverse speed

Overcut decreases with an increasing in traverse speed.

Traverse speed vs Area generation rate has an optimum

Number of passes

Multiple passes: 1.Single water jet with multiple passes

2. Multiple tandem jets with single pass
Increase in num of passes increases cumulative depth.
Kerf acts as a local mixing chamber

Stand-off-distance

If SOD increases : Machined depth reduces

Rebound of particles

Beyond upper value of SOD : No cutting

Smaller SOD : Deeper cut

Process Capabilities

Can cut thick materials: up to 200 mm

Kerf width decreases as w/p hardness increases
Machined Surface: No thermal / Mechanical
Damage
Machining of Glass : Stray cutting leads of frost

Applications

Metal and non metals Both

Omni-directional cutting with no burrs
Industries: Aerospace, Nuclear, Foundries,
Constructions, etc.
Steel component cut, plates, tubes, etc