THE KINETIC-ENERGY OF WEAR PARTICLES GENERATED BY ABRASIVE-WATER-JET EROSION

The kinetic energy of wear particles removed by the erosive action of a high-speed mixture of abrasive particles and water is estimated, bas ed on a simple analysis and on impact-force measurements of the abrasi ve-water-jet before and during the material-removal process. The energ y involved in the acceleration of the wear particles is about 0.3% of the input energy of the high-speed abrasive-water-jet. The kinetic ene rgy of the wear particles that are removed increases linearly with the erosion depth. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.