Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.

145-154 (2008) 145

Study of Numerical Simulation Applying to the Design

of an Orifice with High-Velocity Waterjet
Fu-Cheng Yang1*, Sheau-Wen Shiah2, Tzeng-Yuan Heh2,
Chan-Yung Jen3 and Wen-I Chang4
1
Graduate School of Defense Science, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University,
Taoyuan, Taiwan 335, R.O.C.
2
Department of Power Vehicle and System Engineering, Chung Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University,
Taoyuan, Taiwan 335, R.O.C.
3
Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Naval Academy,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan 813, R.O.C.
4
Duo De Company of Limited Liability,
Taoyuan, Taiwan 325, R.O.C.

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is using numerical simulation method to discuss the influences of
high-velocity waterjet on different types of orifice which is made of diamond. Not only we aim at
establishing the model of analysis to the orifice geometry but also change the design conditions of the
orifices in order to find the optimal orifice shape. During the numerical simulation, a two-dimensional
axial-symmetric model is established first, and then some practical geometric parameters are considered
for the orifice, including flow channel with 0.5 mm in depth, 0.1 mm to 0.56 mm for the diameters of
inlet and outlet, and 0.005 mm to 0.346 mm for the neck height. The analytic results can show the
pressure and velocity distributions of high-velocity waterjets in the orifices under different conditions
and can be used for assessment of orifice geometric design. Through this study, it is expected to know
more physical insight about the effect of high-velocity waterjet on orifice geometry and further to
improve the life cycle of orifice.

Key Words: Design of Orifices, High-Velocity Waterjets, Numerical Simulation

1. Introduction
There are essentially two types of waterjets: pure
waterjet (WJ) and abrasive waterjet (AWJ). WJ has been
moving onto the scene very slowly since 1970 and AWJ
a bit more rapidly since about 1980 [1]. WJ was the origi-
nal water cutting method which was used to cut corru-
gated cardboard. Today, WJ is used to cut a variety of
soft/light materials including paper, food, fiberglass in-
sulation, some plastics and some composites [2]. In WJ,
cutting performance is obtained by a supersonic erosion
*Corresponding author. E-mail: g970403@ccit.edu.tw
process.
The steady flow problem of a viscous incompres-
sible fluid was first discussed by Liepmann [3] and
Naramisimha [4]. Vahedi Tafreshi and Pourdeyhimi [5]
performed a series of numerical simulations using com-
putational fluid dynamics (CFD) code from Fluent Inc.
to solve the effects of nozzle geometry on waterjet break-
up at high Reynolds number problem.
Zheng et al. [6] discussed the quality and cost com-
parisons between laser cutting and waterjet cutting. They
finished quality analyses on cutting of stainless steel pla-
tes, aluminum plates and mild steel plates. And the cost
analyses are determined by the costs of equipment, con-
146 Fu-Cheng Yang et al.
sumables, service, and maintenance. Bach et al. [7] stud-
ied characterization for simulating the pure WJ cleaning
process. The method reduced the costs as well as the time-
to-market of new waterjets cleaning devices drastically.
Liu et al. [8] presented the range of downstream dis-
tances. The results indicate that a jet is characterized by an
initial rapid decay of the axial velocity at the jet centre
while the cross-sectional flow evolves towards a top-hat
profile downstream. Borutzky et al. [9] proposed orifice
model has been used in bond graph model of a hydraulic
sample circuit. Their simulation results have proved to be
accurate. Guo et al. [10] had ever numerical modeling via
Finite Element Analyses (FEA) and experimental mea-
surements via moir interferometry. FEA and experimen-
tal measurements were applied to the investigation of
abrasive waterjet (AWJ) drilling. They finished analyses
of the waterjet contact and impact on target materials.
Bunnell et al. [11] made a model numerically by solution
of two-phase laminar Navier-Stokes equations which for-
mulate with a homogeneous fluid model on unsteady 2D
and axisymmetric viscous cavitating flows. They pre-
sented increasing in the pressure drop across the orifice or
the site density which had the tendency to increase the ex-
tent of cavitation and decrease the frequency of oscillation
about the average length of the cavitating region.
Charinrat and Sakamon [12] used commercial soft-
ware, FEMLAB, with the finite element method to solve
the problem which coupled heat, mass, and momentum
balanced equations. Garcia-Valladares [13] developed a
numerical model allowing analyses such as geometry,
different working conditions, critical or non-critical flow
conditions, etc. K. H. Ahn and J. H. Ahn [14] studied nu-
merically on particle motion through a disk type critical
orifice placed in a 2.2 cm diameter pipe.
Recently, a powerful method which is called decom-
position methodology developed by Adomian [15] can
be provided for analytic approximations to a wide class
of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, partial dif-
ferential equations, and systems of partial differential
equations, and this method demands to be parallel to any
modern supercomputer. Bulut et al. [16] studied an an-
alytic solution of steady flow problem of a viscous in-
compressible fluid through an orifice by using the Ado-
mians decomposition method. Almeida Medeiros et al.
[17] aimed to evaluate the parameters that should be ac-
counted for the dimensional inspection of orifice plate
and roughness of the straight stretches of the tubing mea-
surement of natural gas, with the objective of guiding the
responsible professionals for the measurement of vol-
umes of nature gas by orifice plate, as well as the profes-
sionals of calibration laboratories.
For this purpose, CFD analysis is found to be a viable
approach because direct measurement and visualization
of pure water velocities distributions are very difficult for
the high velocity and small dimensions involved. In this
paper, CFD, model simulation for high velocity waterjets
are established using CFD-RC ACE solver. Jet dynamic
characteristics such as the pure water velocities for the
flow downstream from a very fine nozzle are then simu-
lated under steady state, turbulence flow, no-slip wall con-
ditions, and a range of inlet conditions and outlet para-
meters. The results of the CFD study are then analyzed to
gain an insight into the jet characteristics and a fundamen-
tal understanding for efficient cutting with high velocity
WJ considering the variations in geometric orifice.
2. Mathematical Formulations
2.1 Fundamental Assumption
The geometry of orifice model for waterjet cutting in
this paper is divided into six types of two kinds and the
basic orifice configuration is shown as Figure 1. The re-
Figure 1. Computational domain and boundary conditions of
the CFD model.
 Study of Numerical Simulation Applying to the Design of an Orifice with High-Velocity Waterjet 147

levant sizes are illustrated in Table 1. Six CFD-GEOM where r is the fluid density, p0 is the pump pressure, do
models according to Table 1 were set up and each profile is the inlet diameter, and m is the dynamic viscosity.
is given from Figure 2, respectively. CFD-RC software is
used to simulate the 2D calculated field in numerical mo- Table 2. Parameters setting of orifice
dels. The physical characteristic states of waterjet cut- Simulation parameters Setting value
ting orifices as follows were in order to simplify calcula- Pump pressure 4 108 N/m2
tion. Every parameter setting value is described in details Reference pressure 101,325 N/m2
as Table 2. Internal flow field pressure 101,325 N/m2
Outlet pressure 101,325 N/m2
A. Field flows treated as steady state. Inlet velocity 1000 m/s
B. Field flows considering no-slip condition. Acceleration of gravity 9.8 m/s2
C. The fluids (water ) in the orifice are turbulence Inlet temperature 300 K
Internal flow field temperature 300 K
flows:
Outlet temperature 300 K
Fluid density 1000 kg/m3
Fluid viscosity 0.001 kg/m-s
Wall velocity u = 0, v = 0 m/s

Table 1. Dimensions of orifices model (unit: mm)

TYPE Inlet diameter (di) Outlet diameter (do) Neck height (ln)
A 0.20 0.47 0.044
B 0.23 0.47 0.201
C 0.35 0.47 0.346
D 0.10 0.30 0.005
E 0.20 0.40 0.005
F 0.36 0.56 0.005
Note. Depth of flow channel: L = 0.5 mm

Figure 2. CFD model for orifice geometries.

148 Fu-Cheng Yang et al.

A. The fluid densities of waterjets are constants. In these equations p is the static pressure and tij is the
B. The heat transfer effect of waterjet is neglected. viscous stress tensor, where
C. All the inlet velocities of the orifices in this re-
search are 1000 m/s.
(5)

2.2 Governing Equations

The major governing equations are used from the (6)
CFD model and the boundary conditions for the simula-
tion are given as follows.
(7)
2.2.1 Continuity Equation
Conservation of mass requires that the time rate of (8)
change of mass in a control volume can be balanced by
the net mass flow into the same control volume (out-
(9)
flow-inflow). This can be expressed as:

(1) (10)

The first term on the left hand side is the time rate of
change of the density (mass per unit volume). Because
the initial condition in this paper was set steady state, the
first term can be cancelled. The second term describes
the net mass flow across the boundaries of control vol-
ume and is called the convective term.
2.2.2 Momentum Equations (Navier-Stokes Equations)
The x-component of the momentum equation is found
by setting the rate of change of x-momentum of the fluid
particle equal to the total force in the x-direction on the
element due to surface stresses plus the rate of increase
of x-momentum due to sources:
(2)
Similar equations can be written for the y- and z-
components of the momentum equation:
(3)
(4)
(11)
(12)
(13)
The momentum equations involve three dimension
functions, but the study of numerical simulation was two
dimension calculations. So the z-axial part can be can-
celled in some equations.
2.2.3 Specification of Turbulence Quantities Using
Turbulence Intensity
The turbulence intensity, I is defined as the ratio of
the root-mean-square of the fluctuation velocity, u to the
mean flow velocity, u
(14)
The turbulence intensity generally ranges from 1%
to 10%. That with turbulence intensity less than 1% is
considered as low turbulent flow and that with turbu-
 Study of Numerical Simulation Applying to the Design of an Orifice with High-Velocity Waterjet 149

lence intensities greater than 10% are considered as high generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to the mean
turbulent flows. velocity gradients, uj represents the velocities in the xj
The turbulence intensity at the core of a fully deve- coordinate directions, Cm, C e1 and C e 2 are constant, sk
loped duct flow can be estimated as: and se denote the turbulent Prandtl numbers for k and e,
respectively, and r is the constant density, m is the dy-
(15) namic viscosity. The values of the constants are taken
from [18], i.e. Cm = 0.09, C e1 = 144 . , sk = 1.0,
. , C e 2 = 192
where Re is the Reynolds number. and se = 1.3.

2.2.4 Finite Volume Method 2.3 Boundary Conditions

Most of the governing equations can be expressed in The related boundary conditions are set in this re-
the form of a generalized transport equation, Eq. (16), search shown as follows:
A. Reference pressure:
The pressure of system is established as one atmo-
(16)
sphere pressure (101,325 N/m2).
B. Boundary condition of the inlet:
rf v The velocity of inlet flow is established as 1000
where is a transient term, (rVf ) is a convection
t m/s.
term, ( Gf ) is a diffusion term, and Sf is a source C. Fluid physical characteristics:
term. The fluid is set as water whose density r = 1000 kg/
This equation is also known as the generic conserva- m and viscosity m = 0.001 kg/m-s.
3

tion equation for a quantity f. Integrating this equation
over a control-volume cell, we have,
(17)
2.2.5 Transport Equations
The transport equations for turbulence energy k and
dissipation rate e are solved and shared by the phases
throughout the field. The standard k - e model is chosen
in this simulation work. This model is mathematically
given by
(18)
(19)
D. Isolating wall boundary conditions:
Isolating wall velocities u = 0 and v = 0. The rough-
ness is established as smooth one (Roughness height =
0).
E. Initial conditions of internal fluid field:
The velocities of internal flow are established as u =
0 and v = 0, pressure P =101,325 N/m2, temperature T =
300 K.
F. Boundary condition of the outlet:
The outlet pressure is established as a atmosphere
pressure (101,325 N/m2) and temperature, T = 300 K.
3. Modeling Approach
The aim of the simulation is to predict the waterjet
cutting performance of a given waterjet orifice based on
a set of input parameters. In the following these parame-
ters are schematically listed in Figure 1.

rCm k 2 3.1 Modeling Geometry Configuration

where m t = is the turbulent viscosity, rp is the
e The 2D geometry which be built by the commercial
150 Fu-Cheng Yang et al.

software, CFD-GEOM, will be used for the CFD model-
ing. Because the effects in variety of orifice configura-
tions will be studied in the paper, the orifice geometries
have been set up as shown from Figure 2 to Figure 7. In
this study, the six types of orifice configurations were
used to simulate the distributions of velocity field and
pressure field. The dimensions of orifice are shown in
Table 1.
To investigate the accuracy, stability, and conver-
gence properties of the CFD model, a number of initial
computations are performed by using second-order con-
vective discretion scheme on rectangular grids with both
uniform and non-uniforms grid spacing in the Cartesian
coordinate.
3.2 Kinematic Data and Simulation
Kinetic and liquid parameters for turbulence models
in a waterjet cutting are shown in Table 2, which is also
used for the set-up. Using the geometrical, kinematic
data, the solver of simulation, CFD-ACE, computes the
matrix of the results on the basis of user-definable dis-
crete time increments. The data generated by the solver
consist of a matrix representing the altered surfaces of
the virtual work pieces respectively.
city is 1000 m/s, the acceleration of gravity as 9.8 m/s2
and the density of fluid as 1000 kg/m3 were considered.
The CFD results for outlet velocities distributions are
obtained and representative plots are shown in Figure 3.
100 sets of velocity data at 6250, 7500, and 8750 grid
points were taken in this study. The Root Mean Square
(RMS) is 36.35% between 6250 with 7500 grid points,
and it is 5.39% between 7500 with 8750 grid points. The
pressure distributions at orifice centerline are also very
close such as Figure 4. Based on the basis of exactness
and demand for saving the time of calculating, this re-
search adopts 7500 grid points.
4.2 Numerical Simulation Verification
Numerical simulation verification in this study is
compared with [19] in pressure and velocity parameters.
First the pressure parameter is used to prove the velocity

3.3 Post Processing

For post-processing and visualization of the result
matrix, the CFD-view was used to see the profiles of ve-
locity distributions directly. The other commercial soft-
Figure 3. Flow velocity distributions at outlet of orifices for
ware, Tecplot was used in order to do analyses in detail. 6250, 7500, and 8750 grid points.

4. Numerical Methods and Verify Studies

4.1 Testing for Grid System

The Finite Volume Method (FVM) was adopted in
this research to do numerical calculation. Based on the
TYPE-A orifice, the neck length of orifice was set up 26,
51 and 76 points for grid points tests. At this moment,
there are 6250, 7500 and 8750 grid points in the two-
dimensional models respectively. The calculation con-
ditions are all in turbulence flow field. The reference
pressure, initial pressure and outlet pressure in the model Figure 4. Pressure distributions at the centerline of orifices
system are all a atmosphere pressure. When inlet velo- for 6250, 7500 and 8750 grid points.
 Study of Numerical Simulation Applying to the Design of an Orifice with High-Velocity Waterjet 151

of orifice flow field. Then, 30 sets of velocity values are duced most obviously and suddenly. So TYPE-C is supe-
got when inlet pressure of TYPE-A orifice is 4 108 rior to TYPE-A and TYPE-B for waterjet cutting of sys-
N/m2. The mean velocity is equal to 833.57 m/s after tem which is at a high velocity obviously.
CFD calculation. If comparing this result with the velo-
city (853.44 m/s) in Figure 5 [19], the difference ratio is
only 2.33%. Next, the velocity parameter is used to
prove the pressure of orifice flow field. The pressure is
551,604,800 N/m2 when the velocity is 1036.32 m/s in
Figure 10. The same velocity at inlet of TYPE-A orifice
was set and 30 sets of pressure values were gotten. The
average pressure is equal to 5.55108 N/m2. The mini-
mum difference ratio reaches 0.56%. The results show
the current CFD simulation model is correct.

5. Results and Discussions

Figure 6. The outlet velocity distributions of TYPE-A, TYPE-
B, and TYPE-C orifices.
TYPE-A, TYPE-B, and TYPE-C orifices have obvi-
ous necks, according to inlet velocity distributions in
Figure 6, where the maximum velocities are 806.42 m/s,
973.39 m/s, and 938.53 m/s respectively, and the mini-
mum velocities are 107.38 m/s, 618.46 m/s, and 736.82
m/s respectively. To sum up, the velocities of TYPE-C
orifice are generally faster than these of other two types,
but the distributions are not centralized. Figure 7 and
Figure 8 show the distributions of fluid velocities and
pressures at the Y-axis of orifice centre. To observe the
slope in the picture, we can find that if the distance far
away the outlet is farther, the velocity and pressure re-
Figure 7. The centerline velocity distributions of TYPE-A,
ductions in TYPE-C orifice are very smooth along Y- TYPE-B, and TYPE-C orifices.
axis direction. The velocities in TYPE-A orifice are re-

Figure 8. The centerline pressure distributions of TYPE-A,

Figure 5. The velocity of waterjet vs. pressure [19]. TYPE-B, and TYPE-C orifices.
152 Fu-Cheng Yang et al.
TYPE-D, TYPE-E, and TYPE-F orifices only take
the extremely small ratios which is the depth divided by
the neck height. Figure 9 shows the outlet velocity and
pressure distributions, where the maximum velocities
of flow are 437.39 m/s, 922.99 m/s, and 748.49 m/s re-
spectively, and the minimum velocities are 207.17 m/s,
335.51 m/s, and 434.75 m/s respectively. The fluid ve-
locity of TYPE-D orifice is the slowest, but it is com-
paratively centralized to distribute. The fluid velocity
of TYPE-F is the fastest, but distributes in the surface
relatively widely. Figure 10 and Figure 11 show the dis-
tributions of fluid velocities and pressures at the Y-axis
of orifice centre. To observe the slope in the picture, if
the distance far away the outlet is farther, the velocity
and pressure reductions in TYPE-F orifice are very
Figure 9. The outlet velocity distributions of TYPE-D, TYPE-
E, and TYPE-F orifices.
Figure 10. The centerline velocity distributions of TYPE-D,
TYPE-E, and TYPE-F orifices.
smooth along Y-axis direction can be found, but the ve-
locity and pressure reductions in TYPE-D and TYPE-E
are obviously. The outlet pressures of these three types
of orifice are almost the same. This calculated results
and the assumed boundary conditions of outlet in the
system are matched.
6. Conclusions and Future Works
In current study, a well-developed numerical method
is applied to solve fluid velocity and pressure distribu-
tions for different configurations of orifices with high-
velocity waterjet. From the above simulation results, a
number of important conclusions:
(1) Slight volume of the high velocity waterjets orifice
in two-dimensional model and grid system which
are used to design and analyze were set up by
CFD-GEOM.
(2) To synthesize the results of calculation of the above
six types of orifice, the waterjet of the TYPE-C or-
ifice is the best in velocity, and waterjet of the
TYPE-D orifice is the best in intensity which due
to its smallest inlet and outlet area. Above-men-
tioned analyses of configurations design can offer
high velocity waterjet orifices references in usage
actually.
(3) Design and analysis models for flow and pressure
fields of waterjet orifice configurations were set
up. And the best choice in waterjet application
Figure 11. The centerline pressure distributions of TYPE-D,
TYPE-E, and TYPE-F orifices.
 Study of Numerical Simulation Applying to the Design of an Orifice with High-Velocity Waterjet
from six types of orifices calculation results was
indicated.
(4) Combining the velocity and pressure distributions
in the six types of orifice, the type-C is the best
choice if the high cutting thickness is demanded
and the type-D is the best choice under accurate
cutting request.
(5) We can combine the part which is above the orifice
with the part which is below the orifice to let it
match the actual modeling of waterjet cutting, and
investigate the Fluid-Structure Interaction pro-
blems of orifice, etc. further. We believe that the
applications of waterjets will be beneficial to some
extent.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to
the Duo De Company of Limited Liability for the finan-
cial support rendered to undertake this research work.
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Manuscript Received: Apr. 11, 2007
Accepted: Aug. 29, 2007