A study on the use of single mesh size abrasives in abrasive waterjet machining

This paper details the studies on the use of single mesh size garnet abrasives in abrasive waterjet machining for cutting aluminum. The influence of three different single mesh size abrasives, pressure, traverse rate, and abrasive flow rate; on depth of cut, top kerf width, bottom kerf width, kerf taper, and surface roughness are investigated. Experiments designed using standard L9 orthogonal array and the analysis of variance helped in the determination of highly significant, significant and weakly significant cutting parameters. Single mesh size abrasives are found to yield decreased surface roughness than multi mesh size abrasives. Based on these studies, response equations are developed to predict the target parameters. Using single mesh abrasives, a practitioner not only can cut faster but also achieve reduced surface roughness.