Research on the Effect of Jet Angle on Pre-Mixed Abrasive Water Jet Erosion Process

Abstract

Abrasive water jet (AWJ) is a safe processing technology which can effectively machine almost any materials. However, due to excessive influence factors and micro-high-speed characteristics of the erosion process, traditional experiment methods have limitations in the research of the process, and the understanding of the abrasive water jet cutting (AWJC) process is not comprehensive. In this paper, the SPH coupled FEM method is used to establish the model of the pre-mixed AWJC process, and the effect of jet angle on the abrasive particle erosion process is analyzed deeply. The effect of jet angle on erosion crater sphericity is achieved from simulation results and the sphericity values are compared with the values observed in the experiments. Simulation results are in good agreement with results obtained from the experimental verification, which proves that the SPH coupled FEM method has better reliability and higher accuracy than single particle or multi-particle FEM erosion simulation. Based on the analysis of erosion crater morphology, the reason of jet angle change during AWJC process. This paper not only enriches the research method of abrasive water jet cutting process, but also contributes to the precise control of abrasive water jet cutting process.