International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications (IJETA) Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2017

RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Experimental Evaluation of Optimal Parameters for Abrasive

Water Jet Machining Process of Granite
A Venkata Lakshmi Mrudhula[1], Dr. Ch V S Parameswara Rao[2]
Dr. S N MalleswaraRao Singu [3]
Mechanical Department [1], PBR VITS, Kavali
Mechanical Department [2], Director of R&D, PBR VITS, Kavali, Nellore (Dt), A.P.
Mechanical Department [3], PBR VITS, Kavali, Nellore (Dt), A.P.

ABSTRACT
Abrasive Water Jet Machining is an effective technology for processing various materials. This paper evaluates the various
parameters of Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM). In AWJM process the workpiece material is removed by impact erosion
of high-velocity jet of water mixed with abrasive particles. This technology is used for the applications such as cutting, drilling,
and milling of hard materials. The technology has been begun to use for years in the machining and/or processing of natural
stones, in particular, granite for especially decorative cutting purposes. Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline, igneous rock
consisting mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and often used as a building stone. Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM)
process is usually used to through cut materials such as granite (hard and tough) which are difficult to cut by conventional
machining processes. In the present work, experiments are conducted on cutting granite stones of different thickness at different
pressure rates. The output parameters were analyzed using the statistical methods for determination of the effects of each
parameter on the cutting process.
This paper also deals with the current status of machining of granite by abrasive water jet and optimization of the
machining parameters and different outputs. Water pressure, Surface roughness, Material removal rate and cutting time are the
major controlling parameters identified.
Keywords : Abrasive Waterjet Machining (AWJM), Material Removal Rate (MRR), Surface Roughness (SR), Granite,
Water pressure, Cutting time.

high flexibility and small cutting forces. Because of these

I. INTRODUCTION capabilities, this cutting technique is more cost-effective than
traditional and some non-traditional machining processes.
Waterjet cutting technology is one of the fastest growing It is also an environmentally friendly technique that
machining processes in the world. Water jets entered the can be adopted for processing number of engineering
manufacturing sector in the early 1970s for cutting soft materials particularly difficult-to-cut materials. However,
materials like cardboard, plastics, rubber. In the mid-1980s, AWJM has some limitations and drawbacks. It may generate
the abrasive water jet machining was introduced to expand the loud noise and a messy working environment. It may also
capabilities of the tool to cut hard materials like metal, create tapered edges on the kerf characteristics, especially
ceramic, stone, glass, composite materials. An abrasive water when cutting at high traverse rates.
jet is a jet of water that contains some abrasive materials such The Abrasive water jet machining system can be self-
as Aluminium oxide, Silicon carbide, sodium bicarbonate, and explanatory through the fig.3.
dolomite and glass beads with varying grain sizes. A
schematic view of the process is depicted in the fig.1
The principle of the WJM process is shown in fig. 2. In this
process, water goes through the thin orifice with very high
pressure (about 4000-6400 bar) and enters mixing chamber
with a very high velocity (nearly 4000kmph). In mixing
chamber, abrasive particles along with water jet are drawn
into the nozzle. Generally, nozzles are made of high wear
resistant materials like sapphire or diamond. This mixture
containing water, abrasive particles, and air leaves nozzle.
Having received a lot of kinetic energy and velocity by water
jet, the abrasive particles cause wearing and machining when
Fig. 1 Elements of A W J M
they impact on the workpiece surface. Advantages of abrasive
water jet cutting are the ability to cut almost all materials, no
thickness limitation to cut materials, no thermal distortion,

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International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications (IJETA) Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2017
Fig.2. Principle of operation of A W J M
Fig. 3 Abrasive water jet machining system
II. NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
STATUS OF THE PROCESS
Aydin et al [1,3], designed a constrained abrasive jet
polishing model. High-speed abrasive jet charges into the
clearance between the constrained wheel and optical glass,
and a high- energy velocity field have been formed under
the centrifugal force of wheel and the hydrodynamic
pressure. E Lemma, et al.[2]. Al developed a new
technique which is a variant of the traditional AWJ cutting
technique, makes use of a back and forth motion of the
cutting head which is superimposed on the normal linear
motion to effect optimum loading of the cutting forces on
the workpiece material and scan the cut wall surface to
also improve surface finish
Azmir et al [4,5] reviewed that past studies have
prominent decision variables, objective functions,
constraints, variable bounds, remarks and their limitation.
The results were recapitulated as follows. Abrasive water
jet cutting is one of the newly developed processes by
which different types of brittle materials like glass,
ISSN: 2393-9516 www.ijetajournal.org
ceramics, and stones, composite materials, ferrous and
non-ferrous materials are machined. Based on the paper
given by Hashish M., a flow of small abrasive particles is
introduced in the water jet and the key role of water is to
speed up large quantities of abrasive particles to a high
velocity to produce a high coherent jet. This jet is then
impacted towards the working surface
Karakurt, I [6], M. Fang made few attempts have
been made to the model and optimize the process
parameters in AWJC. The approaches employed in this
direction include Design of Experiments (DOE),
regression modeling, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA),
fuzzy logics and artificial neural networks. Some of these
studies gave rise to various mathematical equations
developed for predicting the output parameters.
Karakurt, I [7] et al reviewed on the research aspects
in the condition monitoring of Abrasive Water Jet
Machining (AWJM) system. Condition monitoring of the
AWJM system helps to achieve an effective utilization of
the machine in order to increase productivity. AWJM is
one of the non-traditional machining processes used to
machine difficult-to-machine materials.
Sing, shaw, T.Nguyen [8] presented an analysis of
the abrasive water jet milling performance. The milled
channel characteristics are dominated by nine
dimensionless variables representing the process
parameters and material properties that govern the channel
formation process. Predictive models considering these
nine dimensionless variables are then developed for
estimating the characteristics of the channels milled by an
AWJ. The models are verified and found to agree well
with the experimental data. M. Korat et al reviewed the
research work carried out from the inception to the
development of AWJM within the past decade. It reports
on the AWJM research relating to improving performance
measures, monitoring, and control of the process,
optimizing the process variables. A wide range of AWJM
industrial application for different category of material is
reported with variations. Waang, Abhishek Dixit et al [9]
examined the role of the water jet in heavy construction in
general and particularly how it affects the regional
contractors in the northeast. A survey was conducted
among 215 civil contractors of the Northeast region of the
United States and the results were documented in various
categories. The paper presents aspects regarding an
innovative nonconventional technology, abrasive water jet
machining. M.Uthayakumar et al presented an approach to
the assessment of the process parameters in abrasive water
jet cutting of red mud reinforced banana/polyester hybrid
composite. The composite was prepared through
compression molding technique with a varying weight
percentage of red mud viz. 10%, 20% and 30%. The
investigation has been conducted to assess the influence of
the input parameters on the output responses such as
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 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications (IJETA) Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2017
material removal rate, top kerf width, bottom kerf width
and kerf angle of the composite.

Xu, S., Jiazhong Xu et al [10] conducted

experimental research on several typical materials cut by a
water-jet cutting machine equipped with phased intensifier
is conducted, which is valuable for design, manufacture
and technological application of high-pressure water
equipment. It is practically proved that this system can
work stably, with fluctuation rate of water pressure no
more than 2.0%, as well as good cutting quality and high
production efficiency. M.A. Azmir, A.K. Ahsan et al
conducted a practical study for analyzing the surface
roughness and kerf taper ratio of glass/epoxy composite
laminate machined using abrasive water jet machine. The
various process parameters considered are abrasive types
(2-level), hydraulic pressure (3-level), standoff distance Fig.4 Abrasive Water Jet Machine Setup
(3-level), abrasive flow rate (3-level), traverse rate (3- (Courtesy: K S Granites-Ongole)
level), cutting orientation (3-level). The optimization of
AWJM was done with the use of Taguchi method and Abrasive water jet machining (Fig.4) work as the high
ANOVA (analysis of variance). The ratio of top kerf width pressure of water is discharged through a sapphire orifice, thus
to bottom kerf width is called Kerf taper ratio. producing a high-velocity jet that passes through a mixing
chamber and hit the target material. This process creates a
III. EXPERIMENTAL WORK partial vacuum that entrains the abrasive particles which are
fed through the hopper. Momentum transfer from the jet to the
A. Abrasive Water Jet Machine abrasive particles takes place within a narrow mixing tube,
The AWJM used in this research is CMS and also called the nozzle. Here, the abrasive and the high-
TECHNO LINE (Manufactures name) water jet systems. pressure water mixes together to form a high- energy jet that
The dimension of the workpiece is 300 mm x 300 mm x can be used as effective and versatile cutting tools. The
10 mm. The OMAX water jet system uses the pneumatic following parameters were adopted from the literature review
system to control its motion axis as shown in fig. 4. And and listed in Table 2.
the specifications of Abrasive water jet machine are TABLE 2.
Machining parameters
mentioned in the table. 1.
TABLE I Parameters Range
Specification Of AWJM
Abrasive type Garnet
Parameters Range Abrasive size 0.2-0.8mm
Pressure range 1500- 4000 bar
Orifice diameter 0.3-0.45mm
Stand-off Distance 1.5mm
Quality of Cut Q1 to Q5 Material & Thickness Granite of 9mm
Max. Power 93hp Direct Drive
Max. Transverse Speed 9m/min
B. Experimentation
Accuracy 0.025 The granite specimen to be machined is to be placed
Repeatability 0.05 on the cutting panel of the AWJM and select the starting
point (0,0,0) of the cutting surface with a laser beam. In
X Y Travel 1575mm X &Y
this process, it is planned to cut six slots by varying the
Table Size 2337 X, 2752 Y
pressures and height of the cutting surfaces. The cutting
Orifice Diameter 0.3-0.45mm process and the machined component are as shown in the
Material thickness to be cut 100-400mm following figure 6 and the machine component in fig. 5.
Nozzle diameter 1mm
Soft composites 3800 bar
Hard composites 6200 bar
Reverse oil pressure 160 bar
In water pressure 38 bar
Oil temperature 32.8
Cutting 3000 bar
Drilling 1200-1800 bar
Fig. 6. Machined Component

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 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications (IJETA) Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2017
model is a prediction. R-square (R2) has the useful
property, it ranges from zero to one, with zero indicating
that the proposed model does not improve prediction over
the mean model and one indicating perfect prediction. If
the R-square value is close to one indicates the goodness
of fit of the model. The mathematical correlations for both
curves are developed using the same software.
Pressure Vs MRR

Equation y=y0 + (A/(w*sqrt(PI/2)))*exp(-2*((x-

xc)/w)^2)

1000 Adj. R-Squ 0.97137

Value Standard E
B y0 349.2555 44.97314
Fig.5. Cutting process in AWJ 900
B
B
xc
w
260.2557
97.29733
1.25048
7.38057
B A 76381.81 10278.795
B sigma 48.64866
800 B FWHM 114.5588
From the machined specimen, the width of cut for all the B Height 626.3673

MRR,mm3/min
cuts at different jet pressures is measured using Optical Profile 700

projector. The time of cut is measured using stop clock and 600
compared with the timer on the machine.
And then separate the cut portions of the specimen into 500

different pieces of by using the cutter as shown in figure.7 and 400

measure surface roughness values with Tay surf. 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380
Pressure, Mpa

Fig. 7(i)

Fig.8 Variation of MRR with Pressure

Equation

MRR=349.25552+(76381.81535/(97.29733*SQRT(3.14159/
2)))*EXP(-2*((P-260.25577)/97.29733).(1)

Pressure Vs Ra

Fig.7(ii)
4.0
Fig.7 Cut pieces of specimen
Equation y = A2 + (A1-A2)/(1 + exp((x-x0)
3.5 /dx))

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 3.0

Adj. R-Sq 0.99977
Value Standard
B A1 19.7675 77.14693
Ra, microns

B A2 -63.806 1122.210
2.5 B x0 1369.07 17797.98
The experimental results are analyzed using Origin B dx 811.191 5717.071

software for Pressure and MRR as well as Surface 2.0

roughness values and the best-fit curve is identified. The 1.5

ANOVA was conducted for both the curves. Lower values

1.0
of RMSE indicate better fit. RMSE is a good measure of
180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380
how accurately the model predicts the response and is the Pressure, Mpa
most important criterion for fit if the main purpose of the

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 International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications (IJETA) Volume 4 Issue 2, Mar-Apr 2017
Fig.9 Variation of Ra with pressure
Equation
Ra = -63.80641 + (83.57399/(1+EXP((P-
1369.07272)/811.19149))).(2)
The equations (1) and (2) are useful for calculating the
Material Removal Rate (MRR) and Surface roughness (Ra)
values at a given pressure value of cutting.
The data was analyzed using RSM technique and depicted
in fig. 10. The plot shows that the Roughness values are
decreasing and finish is improved for machining at high
pressures.
Fig.10 Variation of Ra with pressure and thickness of job
V. CONCLUSIONS
The value of Abrasive Water Jet pressure has been
optimized for the best outputs of MRR and surface
roughness while machining Granite stone with AWJM.
The mathematical correlations required for determining
the MRR and surface roughness are derived using
Origin software.
The correlations are useful to interpolate or extrapolate
for determining the optimal jet pressure values for
cutting any given thickness of the granite.
ISSN: 2393-9516 www.ijetajournal.org
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to express their sincere thanks and
appreciation for the support to KSG (Krishna Sai Granites,
Ongole, and A.P) for permitting to carry out experiments and
PBR VITS, Kavali for extending measurement facilities.
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on the surface roughness of the granite machined by
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the AWJ cutting process of ductile materials using
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