Flow Simulation in Abrasive Water Jet Machining of GFRP composite: The Effect of Operating Pressure and Standoff Distance on Kerf Width

Abstract

Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) machining is a relatively new nontraditional machine tool used in machining of fiber reinforced composite. The quality of machined surface depends on various operating and material parameters. In the present work the effect of operating pressure and distance of the tool tip from target called the standoff distance (SOD) on AWJ characteristics is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Computational domain was modeled based on experimental results of machining on Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite. CFD results are compared with experimental output. The chosen parameters were found to have significant influence on the kerf width of work piece in AWJ machining. The effect on flow velocity in the domain is analyzed for the jet flow consisting of the mixture of garnet abrasives and water. It is found that distribution of jet velocity increases radially on work piece with the increase of SOD as well as operating pressure that result in widening of the kerf width on the work piece.