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K. Balaji and N. Yuvaraj
the target surface. It uses the kinetic energy of water particles to erode the material by microchipping action. The AWJM process has several predominant process
parameters, i.e., water jet pressure, transverse speed, abrasive mass flow rate, standoff
distance, abrasive grit size, etc., which affect the performance characteristics (i.e.,
surface roughness, kerf top width, taper angle, cylindricity, and material removal
rate). Materials commonly cut with a water jet include textiles, rubber, foam, plastics, leather, composites, stone, tile, glass and mainly, metals. This process does
not require secondary operations to smooth the edge finish. Abrasive is one of the
effective process parameters in AWJM process. Abrasive type and size play a crucial
role in the production of better surface finish. Recently researchers have attempted
or adopted various techniques for the improvement in AWJM performance features
on hard materials. In this study, mixing of two abrasives has been used for the
AWJM operations. The technical content of this study has not been studied to date.
Khan and Haque [2] used different types of abrasives for AWJM namely garnet,
aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide. Performance analysis of three types of abrasive has been analyzed and it is observed that cutting ability of silicon carbide was
higher than aluminum oxide and garnet. Verma et al. [3] have been conducted abrasive water jet experiments on AA2014 aluminium alloy using aluminium oxide as
an abrsasive material. The following parameters namely traverse speed, standoff
distance, pressure, and mass flow rate have been considered for the study. Experimental values were compared with a predictive model that was established using
the fuzzy logic technique. Shibin et al. [4] conducted abrasive water jet machining
process on aluminium alloy. Silicon carbide was used as an abrasive particle and the
following process parameters have been considered in the study pressure, traverse
speed, standoff distance, and mass flow rate. Pressure was identified as the most
influencing factor on the depth of cut followed by the traverse speed and mass flow
rate. Yuvaraj and Kumar [5, 6] have investigated the abrasive water jet machining of
die steel by varying the garnet abrasive mesh sizes and the jet impingement angles.
They reported medium-mesh size of garnet abrasive and oblique jet impingement
angle produced a better cutting performance in terms of machinability and surface
features. Aydin et al. [7] investigated the performances of different abrasives during
AWJM process on marbles. Various abrasives considered in the study are garnet,
white fused alumina, brown fused alumina, silicon carbide, glass beads, and emery
powder. The performance has been measured and analyzed for the following parameters namely the cutting width, cutting depth, kerf angle, and surface roughness.
Natarajan et al. [1] have reported the comprehensive literature survey on abrasive
water jet process. It is observed that various investigations were carried with different
features of abrasives namely, types of abrasives, abrasive flow rate, and size of the
abrasive. It is also observed that there is a scope on mixing of various abrasives for
improving the performance of abrasive water jet process. Perec [8] experimented
AWJM process on titanium alloy, grade 5 using various abrasive particles namely
garnet, olivine, and crushed glass abrasive, the study was conducted to find the
solution for replacing predominant usage of garnet in AWJM process. Price of the
Garnet keeps on increasing in the global market recently. Alternate abrasives which
are cheaper than garnet is a much-needed one and also this will reduce the production
K. Balaji and N. Yuvaraj
the target surface. It uses the kinetic energy of water particles to erode the material by microchipping action. The AWJM process has several predominant process
parameters, i.e., water jet pressure, transverse speed, abrasive mass flow rate, standoff
distance, abrasive grit size, etc., which affect the performance characteristics (i.e.,
surface roughness, kerf top width, taper angle, cylindricity, and material removal
rate). Materials commonly cut with a water jet include textiles, rubber, foam, plastics, leather, composites, stone, tile, glass and mainly, metals. This process does
not require secondary operations to smooth the edge finish. Abrasive is one of the
effective process parameters in AWJM process. Abrasive type and size play a crucial
role in the production of better surface finish. Recently researchers have attempted
or adopted various techniques for the improvement in AWJM performance features
on hard materials. In this study, mixing of two abrasives has been used for the
AWJM operations. The technical content of this study has not been studied to date.
Khan and Haque [2] used different types of abrasives for AWJM namely garnet,
aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide. Performance analysis of three types of abrasive has been analyzed and it is observed that cutting ability of silicon carbide was
higher than aluminum oxide and garnet. Verma et al. [3] have been conducted abrasive water jet experiments on AA2014 aluminium alloy using aluminium oxide as
an abrsasive material. The following parameters namely traverse speed, standoff
distance, pressure, and mass flow rate have been considered for the study. Experimental values were compared with a predictive model that was established using
the fuzzy logic technique. Shibin et al. [4] conducted abrasive water jet machining
process on aluminium alloy. Silicon carbide was used as an abrasive particle and the
following process parameters have been considered in the study pressure, traverse
speed, standoff distance, and mass flow rate. Pressure was identified as the most
influencing factor on the depth of cut followed by the traverse speed and mass flow
rate. Yuvaraj and Kumar [5, 6] have investigated the abrasive water jet machining of
die steel by varying the garnet abrasive mesh sizes and the jet impingement angles.
They reported medium-mesh size of garnet abrasive and oblique jet impingement
angle produced a better cutting performance in terms of machinability and surface
features. Aydin et al. [7] investigated the performances of different abrasives during
AWJM process on marbles. Various abrasives considered in the study are garnet,
white fused alumina, brown fused alumina, silicon carbide, glass beads, and emery
powder. The performance has been measured and analyzed for the following parameters namely the cutting width, cutting depth, kerf angle, and surface roughness.
Natarajan et al. [1] have reported the comprehensive literature survey on abrasive
water jet process. It is observed that various investigations were carried with different
features of abrasives namely, types of abrasives, abrasive flow rate, and size of the
abrasive. It is also observed that there is a scope on mixing of various abrasives for
improving the performance of abrasive water jet process. Perec [8] experimented
AWJM process on titanium alloy, grade 5 using various abrasive particles namely
garnet, olivine, and crushed glass abrasive, the study was conducted to find the
solution for replacing predominant usage of garnet in AWJM process. Price of the
Garnet keeps on increasing in the global market recently. Alternate abrasives which
are cheaper than garnet is a much-needed one and also this will reduce the production