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WATER JET CONFERENCE - Waterjet Technology Association

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ABRASIVE INJECTION USAGE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.<br />

N.J. Griffiths M.A. Cantab.<br />

Sheldon Industrial Equipment,,<br />

Birmingham, England.<br />

ABSTRACT:<br />

This paper follows the development of systems using high pressure water and abrasives<br />

from the early 1960's when the technique was purely used for cleaning vehicles, metal panels<br />

and some buildings as a contracting tool; to continuously running systems with wear resistant<br />

components. It explores the possibilities of factory bared installations for process industries and<br />

covers special equipment for abrasive cleaning of pipes and metal cutting systems for use in<br />

hazardous environments.<br />

INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:<br />

In the early/mid 1960's water jetting was becoming recognized as a useful tool for<br />

industrial cleaning and descaling, as well as an efficient method of drain cleaning and<br />

unblocking. However, because of the pressure limitation of existing pumps and ancillaries,<br />

particularly hose [maximum pressure usually 5 - 8000 psi], a method of enhancing the cleaning<br />

power of the water jet was sought, and the answer appeared to be the addition of abrasives into<br />

the water jet stream. The early sand guns were usually of the form shown in Figure 2.<br />

While being a form of jet pump and efficiently conveying abrasive and accelerating it,<br />

they suffered from very rapid wear on the central abrasive passage, the angled water jets in the<br />

spool and the gas pipe extension.<br />

ABRASIVE FEED.<br />

The earliest sand guns had a hose from the sand gun which was led to a second operator<br />

having a bag of abrasive, into which the hose was fed. Unless this second operator was very<br />

careful as to how he skimmed the hose over the surface of the abrasive, he tended to have an<br />

intermittent feed, ranging from no abrasive to an excess, which clogged the hose and gun. This<br />

led obviously to very intermittent cleaning performance. The next stage in the development of an<br />

abrasive feed system, was the introduction of hoppers with variable orifices [see Fig.1] at the<br />

bottom, to change feed rate. These still suffered from blockages from damp abrasive and from<br />

water flowing back from the gun and clogging feed lines with wet abrasive. Pressurization of the<br />

hopper improved matters [especially when being used under water], but what was needed was a<br />

positive abrasive feed system which could be separately controlled, independent from the high<br />

pressure gun. This could alter abrasive feed rate, and be switched off separately to enable feed<br />

lines to be sucked clear of residual abrasive.<br />

CONCRETE CUTTING GUNS.<br />

The earliest attempts of the use of high pressure water as a cutting tool was for enhanced<br />

cutting of concrete, where the addition of abrasive could cut [be it slowly] the reinforcing bars.<br />

While the earliest attempts at such cutting systems were rather crude and subject to very rapid<br />

wear, they showed the potential of what water and abrasive could do, and most cutting heads are<br />

a development from this early equipment.<br />

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