PROCESS ANALYSIS AND MONITORING IN ABRASIVE WATER-JET MACHINING OF ALUMINA CERAMICS

This paper first attempts to develop an analytical model for material removal in abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) of brittle material. Th e size of fracture that takes place on the backside of the workpiece a s the jet passes through the workpiece is then predicted. The proposed model is experimentally evaluated. In addition, acoustic emission (AE ) generated from AWJM of alumina ceramics is evaluated in view of esta blishing an experimental relationship with the parameters of material removal process. The experimental results indicate that a strong corre lation between the RMS AE signal and the characteristics of AWJM exist s and, therefore, suggest that AE can be implemented in practice for m onitoring purpose. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.