COMPUTER-SIMULATION OF DIAMOND-WIRE CUTTING OF HARD AND ABRASIVE ROCK

The use of diamond-wire cutting technologies to obtain well-shaped blo cks with high recovery is widespread in modern stone quarries. Tool pe rformance and the unit cost of cutting depend on a number of operation al variables (peripheral velocity, pull-back force, water injection ra te, angles of the sections of wire outside the rock) as well as on the geometric features of the cut itself (area and shape). In addition, c utting rate and wire productivity are influenced by the type and numbe r of diamond beads per unit length of wire and, of course, by the char acteristics of the rock (granite or marble). A computer program aimed at handling a problem of this complexity has been developed and tested with the use of available field and laboratory data and was found to be acceptably reliable. The model of the cutting mechanism is describe d and attention is drawn to its main features. The results of computer simulations for various conditions are then discussed. The program wa s found to be suitable for indicating optimum driving criteria and for suggesting further tests and research.