The quantitative evaluation of the cutting surface quality levels in abrasive water jet cutting by measurement of the representative striation mark displacement

Abstract

Non-thermally affected surfaces created by abrasive water jet, among many other advantages, are manufactured with geometric inaccuracies. These geometric inaccuracies are mainly related to waviness, especially in the lower parts of thick engineering components. Therefore, the study establishes a link between the surface quality and abrasive water jet material disintegration parameters related to striation mark displacement. The materials used for the experiments (aluminum, steel, and polyethylene plastic) are selected to cover a wide range of hardness values. These materials are often machined, which enables to draw practical reference values from the results obtained. Experiments are used for determination of the surface quality to assign a range of surface roughness profile parameters R-z and R-a, as soon as no clear striation marks are recordable on the surface for particular materials with specific mechanical properties.