Investigation of Kerf Characteristics Using Abrasive Water Jet Cutting of Floor Tile: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Abrasive water jet (AWJ) is a technology concerned with cutting of difficult materials and performs cutting without changing the mechanical and physical properties of material. Floor tile is widely used in various commercial and industrial filed. One of the major applications of floor tile is its use in decoration of floor. Cutting of floor tile is very difficult by conventional machining methods. In the present work cutting of floor tile was done by the use of advanced abrasive water jet technology. The effects of input process parameters (water pressure (WP), nozzle transverse speed (NTS), and abrasive flow rate (AFR)) on the output response (kerf characteristics and surface roughness) were investigated while performing cutting of the floor tile. It was found that top kerf width is reduced with increase in the WP, NTS, and AFR. Further, it was observed that with the decrease in WP and NTS kerf, taper angle is reduced significantly.