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WATER JET CONFERENCE - Waterjet Technology Association

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS<br />

The data collected in this study showed that waterjets of moderate pressure can<br />

effectively cut very hard rock if suitable abrasives are entrained into the waterjet without<br />

sacrificing the quality of the waterjet. It also showed that Fluidyne's Abrasion-Jet nozzles can<br />

provide the desired abrasive entrainment without severe wear problems of nozzle parts.<br />

This study also showed that entrainment of abrasives into a group of waterjets is a<br />

complex process, involving the interactions of several factors. Good abrasive entrainment has<br />

been shown to be a prerequisite of generating high-performance abrasive waterjet. With the use<br />

of hard and sharp abrasives and an effective nozzle, water pressure was found to be of secondary<br />

importance in cutting hard rock .<br />

The process of Abrasion-Jet cutting of rock is believed to be basically an abrasion<br />

process in which the number of impacts made by the high-speed abrasive particles within unit<br />

time determines the cutting rate. This process can be optimized by considering the following<br />

aspects listed in the order of decreasing priority:<br />

• Entrainment of abrasives into waterjets<br />

• Characterization of abrasives in respect to properties of rock involved<br />

• Water flow rate and abrasive feed rate<br />

• Water pressure<br />

• Nozzle traverse speed<br />

• Nozzle standoff distance<br />

• Jet impingement angle.<br />

Further studies are required to understand the finer points involved in each of these<br />

aspects.<br />

ACKNOWLEDGMENT<br />

The author is indebted to the support provided by the National Science Foundation for<br />

this study.<br />

REFERENCES<br />

1. Barton, R.E.P., and Saunders, D.H., 1982, Water/Abrasive Jet cutting of Concrete and<br />

Reinforced Concrete: 6th ISJCT Paper K4.<br />

2. Easton, N., 1978, Wet Abrasive Blasting: U.S. Patent 4,125,969.<br />

3. Fair, J.C., 1981, Development of High-Pressure Abrasive Drilling: J. Pet. Tech., August,<br />

p 1379-88.<br />

4. Griffth, N.J., and Godding, R.G., 1980, A Preliminary Investigation Into Abrasive<br />

<strong>Waterjet</strong> Cutting of Cast Iron: BHRA Report RR-1629.<br />

5. Hart, B.E., 1976, Guns for Forming Jets of Particulate Material: U.S. Patent 3,972,150.<br />

6. Hashish, M., 1982, The Application of Abrasive Jets to Concrete Cutting: 6th ISJCT<br />

Paper K2.<br />

7. Hashish, M., 1982, Steel Cutting With Abrasive <strong>Waterjet</strong>s: 6th ISJCT Paper K3.<br />

8. Lamb, R.W., 1976, Abrasive or Sand Blasting Apparatus and Method: U.S. Patent<br />

3,994,097.<br />

446

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