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Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343

www.elsevier.com/locate/etfs

A correlation for predicting the kerf profile


from abrasive water jet cutting
C. Ma, R.T. Deam *

Industrial Research Institute Swinburne (IRIS), School of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology,
P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Vic. 3122, Australia

Received 20 December 2004; accepted 1 August 2005

Abstract

Abrasive water jet cutting can produce tapered edges on the kerf of workpiece being cut. This can limit the potential applications of
abrasive water jet cutting (AWJ), if further machining of the edges is needed to achieve the engineering tolerance required for the part. In
this study, the kerf geometry has been measured using an optical microscope. Using these measurements, a simple empirical correlation
for the kerf profile shape under different traverse speed has been developed that fits the kerf shape well. The mechanisms underlying the
formation the kerf profile are discussed and the optimum speed for achieving the straightest cutting edge is presented.
 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Abrasive water jet cutting; Kerf profile; Empirical correlation

1. Introduction Profile cutting or contouring using an abrasive water jet


is a more common cutting task than cutting in a straight-
Abrasive water jet (AWJ) is the fastest growing major line. However, the tapering of the cut edge or kerf limits be-
machine tool process in the world [1] (Flow International comes more noticeable as the local radius of curvature of
Corporation web site 2005). Many people in manufactur- the contour becomes tighter. Thus, the requirement for
ing believe the reason for this is that the water jet equip- more complicated contour processing makes it is necessary
ment is extremely versatile, and quite easy to operate. to improve the performance of abrasive water jet cutting in
The book by Momber and Kovacevic [2] gives a clear producing cut edges to a required tolerance. The important
explanation of the many aspects of AWJ. However, as is point is that if the final shape to be cut has a fine tolerance,
the case with every machine tool process, AWJ has some then the manufacturer needs to know what the kerf shape
limitations and drawbacks. One of the common require- is so that the cut can be made without the need for further
ments in manufacturing is to produce the cut part to the re- machining. The kerf shape is usually described by three
quired engineering tolerance in a single operation. Cutting parameters,
using AWJ can create tapered edges on the kerf, especially
when cutting at high traverse rates. This paper examines The kerf width.
the shape of the kerf as a function of cutting speed, so that The kerf waviness (or striations), and
the best speed for the required engineering tolerance can be The kerf roughness.
selected for the cutting operation.
Kerf roughness is a stochastic variation of the cut sur-
face height that increases with the depth of cut, whereas
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 9214 4339; fax: +61 3 9214 5050. kerf waviness is a regular variation in the position of centre
E-mail address: rdeam@groupwise.swin.edu.au (R.T. Deam). line of the kerf as well as the average width of the cut. Both

0894-1777/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2005.08.003
338 C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343

these phenomena have been studied by a number of Table 2


researchers as reported in Ref. [2]. It appears that there AWJ process parameters kept constant
have been few studies of the average kerf width as a func- Nozzle diameter 1.33 mm
tion of depth of cut, Arola and Ramulu [3], Guo [4]. This is Abrasive mass flow rate 3.78 g/s (0.5 lbs/min)
Water jet pressure 310 MPa (45,000 psi)
partly because there are many process parameters that af- Stand off distance 1 mm
fect the kerf width. Thus, an experimental investigation
was undertaken to correlate kerf width (as a function of
cut depth) with AWJ process parameters. The work here
is an attempt to gather together and present experimental Ten different traverse speeds were used to cut the acrylic
data in a concise form that may be used to test models of samples. The robot moved the cutting head in a straight
the kerf width (as distinct from mere correlations, which line at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 1.8, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 mm/s.
is how we have chosen to summarise our data). The form
of the final correlation gives an insight into the fluid 3. Analyses of the collected data
mechanics and thus the wear mechanisms that cause the
kerf width to vary with depth of cut. Fig. 1(a)–(h) shows pictures taken under the microscope
The main process parameter varied in the cutting oper- of the cut cross-sections for different traverse speeds. The
ation is the cutting speed. In this initial study only the cut- sections shown are the full 25 mm depth of the cut, so
ting speed was varied. The water jet pressure, abrasive flow the magnification is about ·6, for an A4 printout. The
rate and airflow rate were kept constant. Only one material top of the cut is on the left and the bottom of the cut on
was used, acrylic plastic. the right.
Acrylic plastic is usually used as a decorative material.
However, it is fragile and not easy to cut by mechanical
means. On the other hand, acrylic plastic was used as our
experimental material because it made the measurement
easy, so that the form of the correlation could be developed
and the processes that shape the kerf could be better
understood.

2. Experimental

A series of water jet cutting experiments were conducted


using a Flow Corporation abrasive water jet cutting system
located at IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology. The
intensifier pump of the water jet cutting system was capable
of supplying water up to a maximum pressure of 380 MPa
(55,000 psi). A six-axis robot was used to position and
move the nozzle to carry out the cutting. An optical micro-
scope was used to measure the kerf width. The kerf width
was measured at different depths, thus giving the taper of
the cut edge, under different traverse speed.
Commercial grade Garnet was used as the abrasive
material. The Garnet was sieved through a 100 mesh before
use. The relevant properties of the acrylic used in the exper-
iments are listed in Table 1 and the AWJ parameters that
were kept constant during the experiments are listed in
Table 2.

Table 1
Properties of acrylic
Density 1.19 · 103 kg m3
Light transmittance 92%
Tensile strength 55–76 MPa (8000–11,000 psi)
Compressive strength 76–131 MPa (11,000–19,000 psi)
Elongation 2–7%
Fig. 1. Optical microscope images of the kerf geometry (·6): (a)
Rockwall hardness ME0-100
U = 0.2 mm/s, (b) U = 0.5 mm/s, (c) U = 1.5 mm/s, (d) U = 1.8 mm/s,
Specimen thickness 30 mm
(e) U = 2.5 mm/s, (f) U = 3.0 mm/s, (g) U = 4.0 mm/s, (h) U = 5.0 mm/s.
C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343 339

As can be seen, associated with the change of traverse 1.40


speed, the shape of cutting kerf cross-section changes from 1.35
divergence to convergence. The waviness of the cut is Pearson fit 98.2%

Cut Width (mm)


1.30
apparent at high cutting speeds. This waviness is not ad-
dressed here, but has been the subject of a number of other 1.25
studies [2,5–9]. 1.20
Measurements were made of the kerf width at different
1.15
depths from the optical microscope images. These measure-
ments are shown in Fig. 2. The measurements are accurate 1.10
to 0.01 mm. 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Cut Depth (mm)
The kerf profile changes with cutting speed. Cuts at low
Measured Width Stage 1
traverse speed generate a bumped divergent geometry,
whereas high traverse speeds generate a convergent shape. Fig. 3. Kerf profile for 0.1 mm/s cutting speed: Stage 1 fit.
Between cutting speeds of 1 mm/s and 2 mm/s, the kerf
profile changes from divergent to convergent. The waviness
or roughness of the cut profiles is also apparent from the 1.0
graphs, being more obvious at the highest cutting speeds. 0.9
All the kerfs are convergent for the first few millimetres. 0.8

Cut Width (mm)


After this initial convergent region, the cross-section either 0.7
diverges at low cutting speeds or converges at high cutting 0.6
speeds. Thus there appear to be two regions to the cut and 0.5

this is used to develop the correlation for the kerf width. 0.4
0.3
The same procedure is used to develop a correlation for Pearson fit 99.9%
0.2
kerf width that works for all the cutting speeds used. An
0.1
example is shown in Figs. 3–5 using the kerf shape for
0.0
the traverse speed of 0.1 mm/s. 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30
The form of the correlation chosen for the first 2 mm Cut Depth (mm)
Measured Width - Stage 1 Correlation Stage 2
(Stage 1) of the cut depth was
B Fig. 4. Kerf profile for 0.1 mm/s cutting speed: Stage 2 fit.
w¼Aþ ð1Þ
ðd þ X 0 Þ
where w is the width of the cut in mm, d is the depth of the where C and D are the constants to be determined. This is
cut in mm, A, B and X0 are constants to be determined. shown in Fig. 4.
This is shown in Fig. 3. The combined correlation is shown in Fig. 5.
The form of the correlation for depths greater than For the width and depth data measured for the cut at
2 mm (Stage 2) was chosen as 0.1 mm/s the best-fit data is given in Table 3.
When combining the Stages 1 and 2 correlations a Pear-
w ¼ Cd þ Dd 2 ð2Þ son fit coefficient of R2 = 99.8%, is obtained. The form of

U=5 mm/sec
U=4 mm/sec
1.5 U=3 mm/sec
Cut Width (mm)

U=2.5 mm/sec
U=1.8 mm/sec
U=1.5 mm/sec
U=1 mm/sec
1 U=0.5 mm/sec
U=0.2 mm/sec
U=0.1 mm/sec

0.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Cut Depth (mm)

Fig. 2. Kerf width vs depth for different traverse speed.


340 C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343

2.0 1.15
1.9
1.8 1.1
Cut Width (mm)

1.7
1.05
1.6

Value of A
1.5
1
1.4 A = -0.0616Ln(x) + 0.9241
1.3 R2 = 0.9305
0.95
1.2 Pearson fit 99.8%
1.1 0.9
1.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0.85
Cut Depth (mm)
Measured Width Final Correlation 0.8
0.1 1 10
Speed (mm/sec)
Fig. 5. Kerf profile for 0.1 mm/s cutting speed.
Data A Log. (Data A)

Fig. 6. Correlation of A against cutting speed.


Table 3
Best fit correlation at 0.1 mm/s cutting speed
Value Units 0.05
Stage 1 (R2 98.2%)
0.04
A 1.09 mm
B 0.086 mm2 0.03
y = -0.0147Ln(x) + 0.0087
X0 0.33 mm
Value of C
R2 = 0.9892
0.02
Stage 2 (R2 99.9%)
C 0.041 0.01
D 0.0004 mm1
0

-0.01

the correlations for the two stages was chosen so that they -0.02
could be added, without further fitting being required. 0.1 1 10
Speed (mm/sec)
A similar method was applied for other cutting speeds,
Data C Log. (Data C)
up to 5 mm/s, and the correlation coefficients are shown
in Table 4. Fig. 7. Correlation of C against cutting speed.
The coefficients B and X0 were chosen to give the best fit
over for all values of cutting speed used in these experi-
ments. The values of the coefficients A, C and D vary with 0.0001

cutting speed. These coefficients can in turn be correlated


0
against the cutting speed. The form of correlation chosen
was -0.0001
Value of D

A ¼ aA LnðU Þ þ bA -0.0002

C ¼ aC LnðU Þ þ bC ð3Þ -0.0003 D = 0.0001Ln(x) - 0.0002


D ¼ aD LnðU Þ þ bD R2 = 0.9147
-0.0004
These are plotted in Figs. 6–8.
-0.0005
0.1 1 10
Speed (mm/sec)
Data D Log. (Data D)

Table 4
Fig. 8. Correlation of D against cutting speed.
Correlation coefficients for cutting speeds between 0.1 and 5.0 mm/s
Speed Value A Value B Value X0 Value C Value D R2 (%)
(mm/s) 4. Complete correlation at fixed standoff
0.1 1.09 0.086 0.33 0.041 0.0004 99.8
0.2 1.01 0.086 0.33 0.034 0.00038 99.1 The complete correlation of the kerf width as a function
0.5 0.93 0.086 0.33 0.0215 0.00036 99.2
1 0.925 0.086 0.33 0.009 0.00028 94.6
of cut depth and cutting speed is shown below in Eq. (4),
1.5 0.9 0.086 0.33 0.0001 0.00009 98.0 which is obtained by adding Eqs. (1) and (2). The coeffi-
1.8 0.89 0.086 0.33 0.002 0.00006 98.5 cients A, C and B are a function of cutting speed and are
2.5 0.89 0.086 0.33 0.005 0.00005 98.2 given in Eq. (4).
3.0 0.89 0.086 0.33 0.009 0.00004 99.0
4.0 0.82 0.086 0.33 0.011 0.00002 95.2 0:086
w¼Aþ þ Cd þ Dd 2 ð4Þ
5.0 0.81 0.086 0.33 0.012 0.00005 80.2 ðd þ 0:33Þ
C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343 341

where w is the width (mm) of the cut at depth d (mm). Table 5


Coefficients for cutting speed U = 0.5 mm/s
A ¼ 0:0616 LnðU Þ þ 0:9241
Standoff A (mm) B (mm2) X0 (mm) C D (mm1)
C ¼ 0:0147 LnðU Þ þ 0:0087 ð5Þ [Z] (mm)
D ¼ 0:0001 LnðU Þ  0:0002 1 0.93 0.086 0.33 0.0215 0.00036
2 1.04 0.115 0.32 0.016 0.00031
where U is the cutting speed in mm/s. 3 1.17 0.17 0.31 0.009 0.0002
This correlation can be used to find the kerf width as a 4 1.23 0.21 0.29 0.0065 0.00015
function of cut depth and cutting speed when cutting ac- 5 1.4 0.25 0.275 0 0
7 1.66 0.27 0.27 0.0092 0.0002
rylic plastic (see Table 1), under the AWJ conditions given
in Table 2. Thus knowing the tolerance required for the
final cutting edge (variation in kerf width), the maximum Table 6
speed of cut could be calculated. For example, the speed Final correlation coefficients
that gives the straightest edge (a common requirement) Y Y0 Ym R2
can be found approximately by finding the cutting speed A 0.831752 0.0675U0.6947 0.986
at which the coefficient C = 0, since D is very small. Using B 0.061925 0.032475
Eq. (5) this yields U = 1.06 mm/s. Using the full equation, X0 0.3393 0.01016
C 0.0048(Ln[U])2 0.0009(Ln[U])2 0.9927
the kerf width can be calculated, which can be used to plan
 0.0211 Ln[U] + 0.0089 + 0.0021 Ln[U]  0.0032
the nesting of the cuts and so fully utilise the material be- D 0.000256 Ln[U]  0.000316 0.00003 Ln[U] + 0.00007 0.9943
fore starting manufacturing.
U is the cutting speed in mm/s.

5. Dependence of kerf shape on standoff


Y ¼ Y 0 þ Y mZ ð6Þ
In practice there are two main methods of changing the where Y is the coefficient and Z is the standoff in mm.
kerf profile, once the cutting parameters have been opti-
mised for a particular material. These are by varying the A ¼ A0 þ Am Z; B ¼ B0 þ Bm Z; X 0 ¼ X 00 þ X 0m Z;
cutting speed and standoff distance. The correlation that C ¼ C0 þ CmZ and D ¼ D0 þ Dm Z
has been developed so far does not account for any alter-
The results are given in Table 6.
ation in standoff distance. A further series of experiments
Thus the final form of the width correlation is given by
were carried out to examine the effect of standoff distance
on kerf width as a function of depth. The standoff distance B0 þ B m Z
w ¼ ðA0 þ Am ZÞ þ þ ðC 0 þ C m ZÞd
was varied from 1 mm to 7 mm, in 1 mm steps, at constant ðd þ X 00 þ X 0m ZÞ
cutting speeds of 0.5 mm/s, 1.5 mm/s, 2.5 mm/s and 4 mm/ þ ðD0 þ Dm ZÞd 2 ð7Þ
s. An example of the results is plotted below, where the
cutting speed was 0.5 mm/s (Fig. 9). where Z is the standoff distance in mm, U the cutting speed
These results were fitted to the same form as the corre- in mm/s and d the kerf depth in mm.
lation already developed and the coefficients, A, B, X0, C This correlation was verified against all our experimen-
and D calculated as described in the previous two sections. tal data. Below are plotted the worst and best cases. That
The results are shown below in Table 5. is the cases where our correlation matched the experimental
The coefficients were measured for the other cutting data worst and best. The correlation has been plotted with
speeds used in the experiments and fitted to the form: error bars of ±5% (Figs. 10 and 11).

6. Erosion mechanisms

2.8 As described above, we have divided the kerf taper


2.6 formation into 2 sections.
2.4 The first section is correlated by Eq. (1):
Width (mm)

2.2
B
2 w1 ¼ A þ
1.8
ðd þ X 0 Þ
1.6 which we have called the developing flow stage
1.4 Whereas, the second section uses Eq. (2).:
1.2
w2 ¼ Cd þ Dd 2
1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 which we have called the fully developed flow stage, where
Depth (mm)
df=2 mm df=1 mm df=3 mm df=5 mm df=7 mm df=4 mm w ¼ w1 þ w2
Fig. 9. Kerf profile for different standoff distances: cutting speed 0.5 mm/s. w is the kerf width at depth d.
342 C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343

Width v Depth the fluid flows in pipes. Usually, near the entry to the pipe
Cutting Speed 2.5 mm/sec, Stand off 4 mm
1.8 the variation of velocity across the section differs from the
1.6
‘‘fully developed’’ pattern, and gradually changes until the
final form is achieved. Fig. 12 illustrates the whole develop-
1.4
ing process, although the details of the development of the
Width (mm)

1.2 boundary layer will be changed by the presence of particles


1 in the liquid. At first, all the particles (except those in con-
0.8 tact with the wall) flow with the same velocity. That is, the
velocity profile is practically uniform across the diameter as
0.6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 shown at the left of the diagram. Therefore, the cutting
Depth (mm)
width here is wider. However, the effect of friction at the
data 4 mm final correlation (±5%)
wall is to slow down more and more of the fluid near the
Fig. 10. Best case fit to experimental kerf profile. wall, so forming a boundary layer which increases in thick-
ness until, ultimately, it extends to the axis of the pipe.
Since the total flow rate past any section of the pipe is
Width v Depth the same, the velocity of the fluid near the axis must in-
Cutting Speed 2.5 mm/sec, Stand off 2 mm crease to compensate for the retardation of fluid near the
1.5
1.4 walls. This is probably why at this stage the cutting width
1.3 is becoming a little bit narrower. The shape of the velocity
Width (mm)

1.2
1.1
profile thus changes until its final form.
1 Chen and Siores [6] have shown that the abrasive parti-
0.9 clesÕ kinetic energy distribution in the jet, just before
0.8
0.7
impingement on the workpiece, is not even, but a can exhi-
0.6 bit a peak in particle kinetic energy at about 1/3 the radius
0.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
of the jet. In other words the centre of the jet has a dip in
Depth (mm) the particles kinetic energy. This distribution will change in
data for 2 mm final correlation (±5%) the developing flow stage. So that the fluid dynamics of the
Fig. 11. Worst case fit to experimental kerf profile.
developing flow will probably depend on the abrasive par-
ticle mass flow rate as well as the water mass flow rate. A
correlation covering all the variables, including abrasive
The correlation has been constructed so that the two particle mass flow rate and water mass flow rate, would
correlations may be added, thus sections 1 and 2 blend into end up being quite complicated. However, the idea of a
one another. developing flow region and a fully developed region seems
Some researchers divide the whole kerf wall characteris- intuitively reasonable. A more useful approach might be to
tics into three sections called: correlate the depth of the developing flow region for range
of abrasive and water mass flow rates.
1. Initial damage region (IDR), Finally the waviness or roughness of the kerf has not
2. smooth cutting region (SCR), and been addressed here, partly because the waviness or rough-
3. rough cutting region (RCR). ness contributes to less than 5% of the kerf width, but
mainly because the subject is worthy of a much more
This classification is based on the roughness of the kerf. detailed study. From our measurements it seems that there
The IDR located at the top of the kerf is due to jet are two separate components. One is where the cut has
expansion prior to impingement. The SCR follows the constant width; but waggles from side to side like a flag
IDR and is a region of the kerf at the top with smooth in a breeze (see Fig. 1(h)). The other is where the width
walls. The wall roughness increases further down the cut of the cut varies from its expected smooth value (see
and the SCR becomes the RCR. The increasing roughness
with depth can be seen in Fig. 2. This classification is a
good description of the kerf. However, it does not lend it-
self to an immediate understanding of the processes mak-
ing the cut and does not necessarily correlate with the
kerf width.
The correlation that has been found in this work seems
to fit a fluid dynamic dominated mechanism. The first sec- er
ary lay
Bound
tion (Eq. (1)) applies to the kerf width as the water jet
velocity profile develops when it first enters the cut groove. Entrance length

The second section (Eq. (2)) applies to the kerf width when
the velocity profile has fully developed. This is similar to Fig. 12. Jet velocity profile developing stage (after Massey [10]).
C. Ma, R.T. Deam / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 30 (2006) 337–343 343

Fig. 2, especially for high-speed cuts at depth). Part of the Further work will be required to measure the correlation
waviness of the second type could be from errors intro- coefficients for other materials, such as steel. However, we
duced by the measurement, but it seems that a large com- expect the form of the correlation to be the same.
ponent must be due to an inherent waviness of the
process. This could be similar to the mechanism proposed
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