Water jet and abrasive water jet machining are non-traditional, mechanical-energy-based material removal processes in which high-pressure water (converted from pressure energy to kinetic energy through a small orifice) forms a high-velocity jet that erodes soft materials directly, or — when entrained or suspended with hard abrasive particles — erodes a much broader range of materials including metals, alloys, ceramics, and composites through abrasive erosion. Material removal is modeled by relating jet/particle kinetic power (derived via Bernoulli's equation for orifice flow and momentum conservation during abrasive-water mixing) to the specific energy (cutting resistance) of the workpiece material, yielding an expression for depth of cut or penetration as a function of water pressure, orifice and focusing-tube geometry, traverse speed, and the abrasive mixing ratio. This is a topic within non-traditional (unconventional) manufacturing processes, specifically the mechanical-energy-based subgroup, paralleling other erosive/mechanical processes such as ultrasonic and abrasive jet machining.
Water jet and abrasive water jet machining are non-traditional, mechanical-energy-based material removal processes in which high-pressure water (converted from pressure energy to kinetic energy throu…