On the Effect of the Cutting Speed of a Water Jet Abrasive Cutting Process on the Surface Morphology of the Low Carbon Steel S235

Abstract

In order to increase the cutting and breaking capacity of abrasive water jet machining (AWJM), abrasive particles are usually added to water. The AWJM technology is generally used for harder and heavier machinable materials like thick sheets, composite materials with metal and ceramic properties and others within these categories to just cite a few. The contribution is mainly focused on the analysis of the surface properties of the steel S235 after the cutting process, and this depending on the cutting speed of the water jet. Three different cutting speeds were used for the analysis because this cutting parameter significantly affects the resulting quality of the machined surface. A contact profile method was used to analyze surface roughness. The observed surface roughness parameters were the Ra, Rt and Rz respectively. The above-mentioned surface roughness parameters were measured in three positions, i.e.: at the inlet, middle and exit positions of the water jet with respect to the machined material.