Experimental Study On Adding Polymers In Abrasive Water Jet

Abrasive Water Jet technology which has been developed in severaldecades is wildly used in various fields. Increasing efficiency andreducing energy intensity were fit for the sustainable developmentstrategy in China. In order to reduce energy intensity and improve cuttingquality， the polymer（PAM）is added in abrasive water jet in this paper.Adding PAM can significantly reduce turbulent flow resistance in thepipe. But whether there is a similar effect in the high-pressure abrasivewater jet has not been found in a detailed study.An comprehensive analysis was conducted about theory of abrasivewater jet and cutting mechanism. The cutting quality of PVC and marbleplate were experimentally investigated by adding polymer additive intoabrasive water jet based on the technological characteristics of cutting ofabrasive water jet in different velocity of cutting and standoff distance.Therefore, the cutting quality was evaluated by testing the kerf androughness of plate.Based on the analysis of experimental results, the up kerf of PVCplate which was cutted by the pure water jet was more smooth than thatcutted by abrasive water jet, but the burr was generated in the bottom kerffor the pure water jet. When adding the polymer in abrasive water jet, thekerf width remains unchanged at the same cutting speed.When the concentration of PAM added in abrasive water jet is400ppm, the kerf is narrowest, but at300ppm and500ppm the kerf widthof abrasive water jet is slightly wider, comparing to the abrasive water jetwithout adding drag-reducing agent. Adding PAM can reduce the marblecutting surface roughness values, and improve the quality of cutting.When the concentration is400ppm, the surface roughness value is biggerthan other concentration. In addition, comparing with untreated abrasivewater jet, the change of drag-reducing agent concentration can improvethe cutting quality in the different cutting feed speed and target.In a word, adding a little polymer can improve the cutting quality,which is important to the application of water jet in precise machining.