Development of an Abrasive Water Jet Optimal Abrasive Flow Rate Model for Titanium Alloy Cutting

As the abrasive water jet (AWJ) is used in industry extensively, optimization of the process parameters that determine efficiency, economy and quality of the process is becoming more and more important for its successful application. However, being a complicated cutting system, an abrasive water jet is characterized by a large number of process parameters, which include water pressure, orifice diameter, traverse rate, standoff distance, impact angle, focusing tube diameter, abrasive flow rate, etc. Therefore, optimizing the process parameters involves lots of challenging efforts. This paper concentrates on investigating the optimum abrasive flow rate under different water pressures, orifice diameters and focusing tube diameters. Based on theory derivation and experimental study, an empirical model for calculating the optimal abrasive flow rate is created. © 2006 The Boeing Company