Title: A simplified model for predicting the penetration of an abrasive water jet in a piercing operation

Authors: P. Hemanth, P.V. Naqash, N. Ramesh Babu

Addresses: Manufacturing Engineering Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India. ' Manufacturing Engineering Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India. ' Manufacturing Engineering Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India

Abstract: In this paper, a simplified model for predicting the penetration rate of Abrasive Water Jets (AWJs) in a piercing operation is presented. It proposes the use of a lumped mass approach for the jet combined with Bitter|s theory of erosion for interpreting the material removal associated with the piercing process. The lumped mass approach considers the jet as a series of cylindrical slugs penetrating into the material and Bitter|s theory of erosion predicts the cutting mechanism associated with jet penetration. By balancing the momentum of any cylindrical slug with drag forces exerted on it by the outgoing slurry, the geometry of the jet profile is predicted. The jet profile is then used to interpret the geometry of the pierced hole. The rate of material removal is used to predict the variation of depth of the pierced hole with time. Finally, the results predicted with the theoretical model are validated with experimental data (Hashish, 1996).

Keywords: abrasive water jets; kerf profile; modelling; hole piercing; jet penetration; material removal rate; non-traditional machining; advanced machining; water jet drilling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2005.006839

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2005 Vol.7 No.2/3/4, pp.366 - 380

Published online: 17 Apr 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article