Abrasive Water Jet Machining Research Articles

Evaluation of glass-transition temperature and influence of low-temperature condition on the moduli of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber

Medium acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers (ABR) (30–45% acrylonitrile (ACN)) are commonly used in several sealing components for the aerospace industry due to their wide range of thermal stability (−40 °C to +108 °C), good abrasion, lightweight viscoelastic and tear resistance properties. Since sealings manufactured using a popular method, viz., moulding followed by milling, has several cons, like difficulty in transferring the used moulds to other supplementary working units, increased manufacturing cost due to increased processing steps and time, etc. There is a need for advanced and green manufacturing methods, like abrasive water jet machining, to produce intricate shapes/sizes in single or batch-size elastomeric components during failure or damage. Several researchers have suggested machining ABR at low-temperature (cryogenic) conditions instead of room temperature, which helps to get good quality machined surface due to the increased modulus of ABR. Hence, the low-temperature study of ABR is imperative due to the prominent market for cryogenic machining of ABR. In this direction, it is necessary to explore the effect of low temperature on ABR’s thermal and dynamic mechanical properties, which is essential for successfully developing the components required for several aerospace applications. The primary focus of the work is to explore the effect of low temperatures (–50 °C to 100 °C) on ABR’s storage and loss modulus. The low-temperature properties of ABR are enhanced by adding a sulfur accelerator followed by Zinc oxide activators to achieve optimum vulcanisation. The glass-transition temperature (Tg) range was measured using profound characterisation techniques such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Dynamic Mechanical Analyser (DMA). The result shows that the transition phase occurred from –36.59 °C to –12.65 °C, which resulted in a phase change of ABR34 from rubbery to glassy (tough) due to a noticeable increase in the observed modulus values.

Influence of AWJM parameters on surface quality of BSHC

ABSTRACT Natural fiber hybrid composites are replacing synthetic fiber composites, which improves environmental cleanliness. In this investigation, a compression molding process was used to produce a Banana/Sisal Hybrid Composite (BSHC) and the influence of Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM) process parameters on surface quality was studied. The AWJM experiments were conducted using the design of experiment techniques, with parameters such as water pressure (P), nozzle transfer speed (d), and standoff distance (s). During the AWJM process, P was identified as the most significant parameter influencing surface quality. The optimum machining parameters (P3, d1, s1) provide better surface quality which produces a surface roughness of 10.1 μm. The experimental surface roughness values have a better correlation with the predicted surface roughness which shows the efficiency of the prediction model.

An Experimental Investigation on Machining of Hardened AISI 440C Stainless Steel Using Abrasive Water Jet Machining Process

An Experimental Investigation on Machining of Hardened AISI 440C Stainless Steel Using Abrasive Water Jet Machining Process

Multi-response optimization on abrasive water jet machining of Aluminum 7075 alloy using Taguchi–DEAR methodology

This research aims to conduct the multi-response optimization for abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) of Aluminum 7075 metal matrix composites. The experiments were conducted with three levels of AWJM factors such as pressure, standoff distance, and traverse speed. The experiments were designed using Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array. The influence of AWJM parameters was assessed by measuring the outcomes like material removal rate, surface roughness, and taper angle. The single response optimization was obtained through Taguchi's signal-to-noise ratio analysis, and multi-response optimization was achieved with Taguchi–data envelopment analysis-based ranking (DEAR). From DEAR, the optimal AWJM parameter 180 MPa of pressure, 3 mm of standoff distance, and 40 mm/min traverse speed was found. After optimization, the surface roughness and taper angle were reduced by 5.44% and 10.92%, respectively. The influence of cutting parameters on the outcomes was examined through the analysis of variance. It was noted that traverse speed had a significant effect and a contribution of 47.79%. After AWJM, the surface was evaluated using SEM analysis, ploughing marks, ductile rupture, and a small crack were observed.

Experimental investigation of suspension-type abrasive water jet machining of nitrile rubber for positive displacement motor applications

The lightweight elastomers (such as nitrile rubber) frequently used in the Positive Displacement Motor (PDM) stator assembly are subjected to harsh environmental conditions. These elastomeric components are manufactured by primary casting/shaping methods, followed by secondary manufacturing/machining processes. The production of intricate shapes/sizes in single or batch-size elastomeric components using primary casting methods requires a customized mould to fulfil the requirement of sudden breakdown conditions, which is uneconomical. It necessitates an alternate production method that can satisfy the need for the elastomeric component at the stage of failure. The current research focuses on the possibility of producing nitrile rubber components using a non-conventional machining method, Suspension-type Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM), suitable for batch production with better dimensional stability and versatility in shape/size. This work presents the experimental investigation of Suspension-type AWJM of nitrile rubber specimens (15 mm thick) using a custom-designed Tungsten Carbide (WC) nozzle under room-temperature condition. The top surface of the machined slot is analyzed to determine the mineral composition and abrasive particle embedding through Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) and Backscatter Electron (BSE) detector. The Taguchi Orthogonal Array (OA) is employed to study the effect of the process parameters (Water Jet Pressure (WJP), Traverse rate (Vf), and Stand-Off Distance (SOD)) on the performance parameters (Kerf Taper Ratio (KTR), and Material Removal Rate (MRR)). The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is applied to check the statistical significance and percentage contribution of each process parameter on the performance of Suspension-type AWJM. The uniformity in the geometry of the machined slot is analyzed by the waviness patterns observed in the profile images of the cut specimen. The analysis of the EDX results reveals the presence of Manganese (Mn) and an increased percentage of Silicon (Si) particles near the top surface of the machined slot. The SOD influences KTR the most, whereas Vf highly influences MRR. It is observed that the waviness pattern is minimal at high WJP experimental runs. The outcome of this research work provides a quick and economical method of producing the PDM bushings instead of the casting/moulding method.

Analysis of Kerf Quality Characteristics of Kevlar Fiber-Reinforced Polymers Cut by Abrasive Water Jet

Abrasive water jet machining has become an indispensable process for cutting Kevlar fiber-reinforced polymers used in applications such as ballistics protection, race cars, and protective gloves. The complex and diffuse action of a large number of input parameters leads to the need to evaluate the quality characteristics of the technological transformation as a result of the deployment of experimental studies adapted to the specific processing conditions. Thus, the paper focuses on identifying the influence of different factors and modeling their action on the characteristics that define the quality of the cut parts, such as the kerf taper angle and the Ra roughness parameter, by applying statistical methods of design and analysis of experiments.

Minimization of surface roughness and residual stress in abrasive water jet cutting of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V

Concrete, ceramics, rocks, metal-matrix composites, titanium alloys and other hard-to-cut materials are frequently cut using the non-traditional cold processing method known as abrasive water jet machining (AWJM). A virtual machining system is proposed in the study to minimize roughness of surface and residual stress during AWJM of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The water and workpiece are simulated in virtual environments using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) approach and finite element method, respectively. Then, the Johnson–Cook law model of titanium alloy is used to obtain the cutting temperature during cutting operations. To calculate residual stress during the AWJM operations, the finite element method is then utilized. The Taguchi optimization method is implemented to minimize surface roughness and residual stress in AWJM operations. Thus, the optimized machining parameters such as water jet pressure, traverse speed, abrasive mass flow rate and standoff distance are calculated to minimize the surface roughness and residual stress during the AWJM of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. Experimental and computational examinations are carried out in order to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of proposed virtual machining system in minimization of surface roughness and residual stress during abrasive waterjet cutting of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. As a result, by using the optimized machining parameters, 23.7% and 27.1% reduction in the measured and predicted residual stress of sample machined part are obtained. Also, the sample machined part’s surface roughness is reduced by 26.7% and 27.9%, for the measured and predicted surface roughness of sample machined part, respectively. So, the quality and reliability of the machined parts can be enhanced using the developed virtual machining system in the study to minimize the surface roughness and residual stress in AWJM operations.

Influence of process parameters on delamination of GFRP with abrasive water jet machining

Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is extensively employed for machining composites such as glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRP). AWJM has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective and practical material removal technique for composites, in which a high-speed jet of abrasive and water erodes the material on the workpiece surface. In this paper, an experimental investigation is explained which is focused on investigating the impact of process parameters on the delamination of machined samples during AWJM of GFRP composites. Four main process parameters namely water pressure (WP), traverse rate (TR), standoff distance (SOD), and abrasive mass flow rate (AMFR) are considered to study their influence on delamination. For design of experiments Minitab 18′s Taguchi L16 orthogonal array is used, and ANOVA is applied to find out the significance and effect of process parameters on delamination. It is revealed that delamination increases with an increase in traverse rate and water pressure and is prominent at the bottom portion of machined samples. The delamination is measured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Abrasive water jet machining of pineapple fibre epoxy composite at high transverse speed

Recently, research has been undergoing in the area of natural fibre-reinforced composite as an alternative for metals and plastics in automobile applications. It is mainly because of its strength and lighter weight. Literature shows that tribological studies are made in large numbers to evaluate these composite's strength, corrosion and wear behaviour. The machinability of these natural fibres is to be studied to understand the further scope of these materials in their respective application. In this research machinability of pineapple fibre is studied under the abrasive water jet machining process at a higher transverse speed. The material removal rate is chosen as a tool for evaluating the machinability of these composites. The Taguchi-based approach is used for planning and optimising the experiments. The optimal parameter for maximising the material removal rate is done using the signal-to-noise ratio analysis. Also, an Artificial neural network algorithm is developed to predict the responses. The results of the ANN model show that the model predicts the response with an accuracy of 94.9%. This ANN prediction model of machining study could be helpful when these composites are imposed in automobile and aerospace applications.

Investigation on surface roughness and kerf analysis in abrasive water jet machining of silicon carbide

Machining silicon carbide (SiC) is challenging due to its brittle and maximum tensile nature. Lapping or laser beam are done with a high cost of manufacturing and low material removal rates. Water abrasive jet cutting is a promising candidate since the machining temperatures and processing force of ceramics are extremely low. Investigation into the abrasive water jet machining of silicon carbide is carried out in the present work.The variations in traverse speed while abrasive water jet cutting of silicon carbide and its effect on the surface roughness and kerf characteristics are studied. Silicon Carbide abrasive material is used as garnet consisting of 80 mesh. The surface roughness was calculated along with the depth of the cut made during the processing.The outcomes demonstrated that the traverse speed is more effective upon the surface roughness and is an important factor that damages the top kerf width and the kerf taper angle.Based on the hardness and thickness of the SiC plate, the taper angle is high, and for a feed rate of 10 mm/min, the surface roughness is low. Less thickness of the SiC plate could have a lower taper angle than with high thickness. The erosive force is provided by abrasive material along with the jet stream.Water abrasive fine jet could effectively machinate silicon carbide ceramic material with a better surface finish accurately. Suitable surface roughness with higher productivity can be attained with medium traverse speed.The effect of process parameters on kerf taper angle and top kerf width in the abrasive water jet machining of silicon carbide is explored, considering surface roughness as an important output parameter.

A Short Review on AWJM of Natural Fibre Reinforced Composite Materials

A composite is a solid material created by combining two or more different substances, each with its own set of qualities, to create a new substance with properties that outperform the original components for a specific use. Currently composite materials are widely applied across various fields due to its superior properties. The fibre reinforced composites being light in weight, and high strength are replacing metals in many applications. Nowadays, more focus is paid in developing sustainable and environment friendly materials without compromise in the quality. This reason led to the development of Natural Fibre Reinforced Composite (NFRC) materials, which is gaining more attention towards them. Though many NFRCs were developed, machining is a very big challenge. Compared to the traditional machining processes, the non-traditional machining process is proved to be recommendable for machining NFRC materials. In this article, the numerous research endeavors carried out in machining of NFRCs using Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM) process is reviewed. This article describes the different parameters considered in AWJM process and their influence over the machining characteristics of NFRCs. Based on the different research carried out, the use of nanofillers in the right composition is expected to increase the performance of the AWJM process over NFRCs.

Research Trends in Abrasive Water Jet Machining Using Numerical Simulation Tools: A Bibliometric Review

Background: Abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining process is one of the most sought-after machining technologies for the processing of advanced hard-to-cut materials. It involves parameters, such as abrasive size, shape, density, pressure, standoff distance (SOD), abrasive concentration, feed rate, etc., which govern the quality of machining. It is very crucial to understand the influence of these parameters on the quality attributes. Objective: Due to the complex nature of the process that involves complex process parameters, the accurate prediction of response by experimental methods is difficult. In this scenario, numerical methods are helpful in understanding the mechanisms of material removal. Thus, a comprehensive summary of these research trends is needed. Methods: In this article, a bibliometric analysis is carried out on scientific publications pertaining to AWJ machining (AWJM) using numerical simulation tools. Citation and bibliographic coupling analyses have been carried out to identify the current research trends, the important journals, authors, institutions, and countries engaged in research on AWJM using numerical simulation. Results: The analysis revealed Shandong University to have the maximum number of affiliated researchers working in this area. The International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture was the leading journal based on CiteScore, SJR rank and SNIP ranks, and the largest volume of articles was published by this journal. The critical topics of research and international collaborative opportunities were identified through the analysis of keywords, Sankey and network diagrams. Conclusion: The present article would be valuable for academia and industry, aiding them in updating their knowledge on the latest developments in AWJM.

INVESTIGATION OF THE SURFACE QUALITY OF AA6082-ZrO2-Gr MMCs USING ABRASIVE WATERJET MACHINING

Aluminium metal matrix composites have wide applications in the aerospace and automotive industries due to their excellent physical properties like hardness, tensile strength, etc. The reinforcement of ZrO2 hard ceramic particles and soft solid lubricant graphite on AA6082 produces a high-strength composite. This research aims to fabricate AA6082-ZrO2-Gr MMCs with different compositions and evaluate the abrasive-waterjet-machining (AWJM) parameters in the machining of the fabricated composites, which eliminates the thermal distortion and damage to the work material. The experiments were conducted by varying the dominant process parameters such as water pressure, traverse speed, abrasive flow rate and mesh size. The kerf taper angle was affected by the traverse speed and water pressure, while the surface roughness was affected by the abrasive flow rate, mesh size and water pressure. The abrasive mesh size of 120 provided the best surface finish.

Influence of the jet tilt angle on geometrical characteristics of the milled pocket on aluminum alloy Al6065

The abrasive water jet (AWJ) is a non-traditional process that can be employed to machine a variety of materials that are significantly difficult to machine using conventional machining processes. This paper presents an experimental investigation conducted to evaluate the influence of the jet tilt angle, a kinematic process parameter, on the characteristics of the milled pocket as milling aluminium alloy 6065. The influences of this parameter are assessed by measuring differences in the depth of the milled pocket, the width, and the slope of the pocket wall. It is found that as the jet tilt angle decreases, it has a significant influence on characteristics of the milled pocket due to changing the material removal mechanism during the erosion process. Insight the influence of the jet tilt angle, this work paves a good fundamental for developing strategies for controlled 3D AWJ machining of complex shapes and improving the quality of the milled surfaces

Artificial immune system approach for optimizing abrasive water jet machining process on super alloys

Artificial immune system approach for optimizing abrasive water jet machining process on super alloys

Analysis and optimization of mass percentage of zycoprint polymer and abrasives in achieving stability of suspension mixture in abrasive water jet machining

The suspension parameters are vital in the suspension-type abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining of several engineering materials, more so in difficult-to-cut materials, because it significantly influences the suspension stability and sedimentation behaviour of the suspension mixture and abrasive particle acceleration into the AWJs. The suspension stability and abrasive particle acceleration of the suspension-type AWJs are improved by using polymer additives. Hence, it is necessary to study the effect of suspension parameters (abrasive and polymer concentrations) on suspension stability. In this direction, the novel work reported in the paper analyses the stability of suspension by varying the mass percentage of abrasives (garnet and aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 )) ( ω a ) and mass percentage of the zycoprint polymer ( ω p ) in water by considering the Taguchi L 9 Orthogonal array (OA). The linear regression (LR) models for the percentage of suspension volume with garnet ( V s G ) and the percentage of suspension volume with Al 2 O 3 ( V s A ), are developed. The JAYA algorithm is used to find the optimal combination of the suspension parameters, and its results are in close agreement with the findings from the LR results. The optimum setting of the suspension parameters for both, V s G and V s A , is 3% of ω a and 0.80% of ω p .

Optimization of process parameters for machining defects of glass fibre reinforced polymer composite machined by AWJM

For the machining of composites like glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP), abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is generally used. AWJM has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient metal removal process of composites, in which a high-speed jet of abrasive and water strikes on workpiece surface to erode the material. In this paper, an experimental investigation is described which is focused on investigating the effect of process parameters on defects like delamination, pulling out of fibres and embedment of abrasive particles of machined samples during AWJM of GFRP composites. For design of experiments response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) approach is used. Water pressure (WP), traverse rate (TR), stand-off distance (SOD) and abrasive mass flow rate (AMFR) are considered to study their influence on delamination. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to investigate the microscopic features of machined surfaces. It is revealed that delamination decreases with an increase in AMFR, with a decrease in TR, Further, optimization based on the desirability function is also performed to minimize the delamination. The optimal combination of the cutting parameters (SOD = 2.6 mm, WP = 175-MPa, TR = 104 mm/min and AMFR = 582 g/min) gives the optimized values of Max. DLL is 0.299 mm.

Experimental investigation of delamination of carbon and glass fiber during abrasive water jet machining

Composite materials are inevitable in today’s industrial world because of its unique characteristics such as all good mechanical properties, electrical resistance, and light weight ratio compared to conventional materials. The applications of composites are being widely increasing in exponential form like aerospace, sports, defence etc.., machining operation is a necessary in manufacturing industry like drilling, boring, slotting, threading, riveting and screwing etc…, we considered drilling is a most necessary and critical task on composite laminates and it is big issue over conventional material. In this project, abrasive water jet machine is used for drilling on carbon and glass fibres. The aim of present experimental work is investigating influence of process parameters and minimizes the delamination damages because delamination is the significant damage concerned while machining, this experimental work is concerned with various process parameters such as Abrasives flow rate, Standoff distance, traverse speed, and Water Pressure. MINITAB software was used for design of experiments (DOE) for AWJM by combination of various process parameters with multiple levels. Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array (4x4) was used to conduct experimental work on AWJM and digital scanner was used to determine influence of process parameters. It is revealed that water pressure and traverse speed are the major influencing of significant process parameters. Damage free holes and less delamination factor was obtained while increase in water pressure and decrease in traverse speed. AWJM showed prominent technique for both carbon fiber and glass fiber, which experimentation results revealed that the value of 1.013 mm for carbon fiber and 1.015 mm for glass fibber are obtained at the combination of abrasives flow rate, standoff distance, water pressure and traverse speed upon responded variables are 800 gr/min, 4 mm, 50 mm/min, and 3000 bar, respectively.

A review on the physical and mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced composites and its machinability using abrasive waterjet machining

In recent years greater concern is being shared between different research and engineering communities for developing eco-friendly engineering materials. Natural fiber reinforced composites (NFRC) are one of the highly explored materials which are drawing the interests due to the numerous advantages they offer. Today most of the research are focused on replacing the synthetic fibers by natural fibers as they are abundant, lower cost, biodegradable and show good mechanical properties. The NFRC are majorly used in automobile, aerospace and civil applications. One of the problems associated with natural materials is their machinability. The traditional machining of NFRC poses various challenges such as delamination, lower precision, cracks, higher surface roughness etc. Therefore, it is necessary to identify sustainable machining techniques for natural materials. Abrasive waterjet machining (AWJM) is one of the most viable non-traditional machining methods and its efficiency in machining NFRC is higher compared to other non-traditional machining techniques. Therefore, in this article a detailed review is conducted to understand the different natural fibers utilized for the fabrication of composite. Also, their mechanical properties (MP) and applications in different industries are detailed. In addition, the effect of AWJM parameters on the machinability of NFRC and optimum process parameters for achieving better machining quality in NFRC are discussed.

An experimental study of abrasive waterjet deep hole drilling on Inconel 718

Inconel 718 is the most dominant alloy to manufacture 50% of aerospace components due to its excellent oxidation resistance, and good corrosion and erosion resistance across a wide range of temperatures. These aerospace components require small and micro-holes with high aspect ratios for specific functions. Among all the modern manufacturing processes, Abrasive Waterjet Machining (AWJM) is gaining popularity to produce such holes with its superior potential to machine all kinds of materials in the absence of heat and with minimum damage to the work surfaces. This research work attempted to study the output responses, namely material removal rate, kerf geometry, and surface roughness viz constant water pressure, varied Stand-Off Distance (SOD), and Abrasive Mass Flow Rate (AMFR). This research reveals that AWJM has excellent potential to make deep holes on Inconel 718 with the following outcomes; the material removal rate has been increased with increased mass flow rate and the kerf angle and surface roughness of the drilled holes have been decreased with the increased mass flow rate.