Investigation of the influence of the AWJ-specific energy on the cutting kerf profile on aluminium 6082

This study introduces the abrasive waterjet specific energy as a novel physical quantity to characterize the taper ratio in abrasive waterjet cutting. Said quantity was defined as a proper combination of the most influential control factors. A series of abrasive waterjet cutting experiments on aluminium 6082, were conducted, according to the design of experiments methodology. For each experimental run, the width of the kerf profile was measured and characterized in terms of taper ratio. The effect of the abrasive waterjet specific energy and the main process parameters on the measured quantities were investigated. Results showed that inside the experimental range of the process parameters, the abrasive waterjet specific energy correlates well with the taper ratio. As a conclusion, different combinations of the control factors (water pressure, abrasive mass flow rate, feed rate), corresponding to the same level of abrasive waterjet specific energy, produced the same cutting kerf geometry as well as the same taper ratio. This result gives freedom to the waterjet users in selecting the best parameter combination according to some criteria (e.g., time or cost) for achieving the target AWJ-specific energy and the consequent kerf quality.