INVESTIGATION OF A NEW CUTTING HEAD CONCEPT BASED ON AN ANNULAR DRIVING JET

摘要

Today, abrasive-waterjet cutting is an established tool for many applications. In order to improve the cutting efficiency, the geometry and use of the cutting head are the subject of many investigations. Yet, conventional mixing heads still suffer from energy losses due to the principle of jet formation process, and from a limited focusing of the jet. Therefore, a new mixing concept was developed. Instead of a spot-like jet, an annular jet encloses the abrasives, thus enabling a "soft" mixing, acceleration and focusing process. The new system works with conventional pressure generation systems, i.e. up to 400 MPa at a maximum water-volume flow rate of 5 l/min. Two different types of geometry are investigated by means of theoretical considerations, CFD-srudies, experiments on enlarged models, and original size prototypes. The results indicate the importance of the geometric parameters involved and show that a self-centering effect occurs. During a first parameter study, promising depths of cut were achieved.