An investigation of square opening process on a carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites by abrasive water jet

Abstract

Because of the abrasive water jet (AWJ) contour-making process nature, the changing nozzle traverse direction involved in AWJ contouring results in shape errors. AWJ contouring appears to be an area that needs special attention. Accordingly, a detailed experimental investigation is presented in this work to study the various cutting performance measures in AWJ profile cutting (square opening) of carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites (CFRPCs) based on a statistically designed experimental investigation. Various major process variables (water pressure, nozzle traverse speed, standoff distance between the nozzle, workpiece thickness, and abrasive flow rate) are considered. Three quality characteristics of square namely square dimensional deviation, square taper angle, and corners error were selected to be optimized. The experimental data were subsequently used to develop predictive models for the major machining performance measures. The predictive empirical models (second-order polynomial) in conjunction with generalized reduced gradient (GRG) algorithm and desirability function are used for multi-response optimization of AWJ contouring. Some typical defects in the contoured cutting processes are presented and discussed.