Waterjetting Index

I began to write these posts on waterjet applications more than two years ago, and it seems appropriate, therefore, to provide an index to those articles, which generally focus on a different topic each month, with four or five sub-topics within that theme.

1. An Introduction to the Topic
Background to the series
Initial Considerations of Force, Pressure and Flow Volume
Calculation Tables for flow, volume and horsepower
Why water jetting isn't that simple a topic.

2. The role of cracks and flaws in jet cutting
Growing cracks and cutting glass
Crack growth and cutting granite
Using natural cracks in cutting
Adding cracks to help in cutting.

3. Pumps and Pressure Generators
Why systems are not all the same.
Pumps, Intensifiers and Water Cannons
Pressure Washers
Pump flow rates and pressure effects
Water Quality Problems - part 1

4. System Design Considerations
Pump Pulsations and their effects
Line Losses in a pressure system
Hoses and Tubing

Making gift items - a seasonal post.

5. More System Considerations
Hose and Nozzle Connections
Flow Straighteners
The connection of the nozzle to the pipe.

6. Testing Performance
An Introduction to testing and why you need to.
The Triangle Cutting Comparison Test
Using foam for cutting tests
Testing using Plywood and Pork

7. Waterjet Structure and Cleaning
An introduction to jet structure
Fan jet structure and cleaning
Fan jets and rotating jets in cleaning
High Pressure waterjet cleaning vs Sandblasting.

8. Cleaning Surfaces
Cleaning with heat
Cleaning and repairing concrete surfaces
Removing graffiti
Adjusting the cleaning angle for different materials

9. The Mechanisms of Jet Penetration
The instant of jet impact
The effect of change in standoff distance
Starting to make a hole
As the hole deepens and glass penetration

10. Abrasive Waterjet Cutting (AWJ)
Beginning to cut
Introductory thoughts on abrasive
Abrasive waterjet cutting
Abrasive choice

11. More thoughts on Abrasive Use
Air in an abrasive waterjet
Abrasive use and cutting depth
Mixing abrasive into a waterjet
AWJ and adjusting for cut taper

12. Jet Assisted Mechanical Cutting
The heat created in AWJ cutting
Jet assisted mechanical rock cutting
Jet assisted mechanical metal cutting
The heat of a waterjet cut.

13. Milling with High Pressure Waterjets
An introduction to milling and masks
Milling without a Mask
Pocket floors and bas reliefs
Pocket milling can save energy and material

14. The problems and useful applications of cavitation
Introduction to cavitation
The ASTM cavitation tests
Intensifying cavitation erosion
Intense cavitation and a traversing jet
Using cavitation to break rocks into useful pieces.

15. Waterjet Cutting of Large Stone Monuments
Carving the Missouri Stonehenge
Cutting the Millennium Arch
Surface quality, cleanliness and removing abrasive
Cut surface quality and the cutting curve

16. Abrasive Feed Rate (AFR)
Fundamentals of abrasive mixing
Optimizing abrasive feed rate
Optimum AFR and cutting curves

17. Discrete cutting and medical uses of water jets
Removing rubber from runways
Removing discrete layers of material
Cutting discrete tissue and cancer
Medical applications of waterjets
Liposuction and other medical applications

18. A closer look at Abrasive
Nozzle design in sandblasting
Surface condition after abrasive use
Choosing the right abrasive
Abrasive types and sizes

19. Some history of waterjet development
A personal viewpoint
California, the Gold Rush and Hydraulicking
Removing soil with a waterjet
Moving masses of material with a waterjet

20. Cutting and moving soil and coal
Making holes and slots in soil
Making slots in coal
The critical distance in cutting
Putting two jets together.

21. Mining peat, coal and other fuels
Of peat, coal and New Zealand
Initial thoughts on collecting jetted material
Borehole mining, gilsonite and coal
Confining hydraulicked coal for transport

22. Shroud development from coal to nuclear waste
Mining in horizontal coal seams
Hydraulic mining in steep seams and shrouds
Shroud design and waste concerns
Shrouds and hydroexcavation

23. An Introduction to Abrasive Slurry Jetting (ASJ)
Getting abrasive into a jet part 2.
The evolution from DIAjet to ASJ
Abrasive slurry cutting ranges

24. Cutting, cleaning and breaking concrete.
Cutting concrete - part 1.
Cleaning and Cutting Concrete - a word of caution.
Angled jets for cutting concrete.
Impulse breaking of concrete.

25. Extending the range of a waterjet.
Choosing jet parameters to increase range.
Jet range extension when using abrasive.
Changing the cut geometry to improve range.
Converging jets to improve range and cutting power.

26. Jet Assisted Mechanical Cutting.
Jet assisted mechanical cutting reviewed.
Positioning a jet nozzle to improve cutting.
The effect of cutting tool shape.
The benefits of jet assisted mechanical cutting.

27. Cutting Materials that are under Pressure.
Cutting glass that is stressed (tempered).
Drilling rock under stress.
Drilling nozzle Design.
Drilling at a constant diameter in stressed material.
Back pressure effects in borehole cutting.

28. Abrasive Waterjet Cutting of Large Slabs.
Cutting and lettering large slabs on a table.
More on abrasive recycling.
Using steel shot and grit as an abrasive.

29. Learning from the Past.
Looking back and learning for the future.
Dr. Andrej Lichtarowicz.
The evolution of Hydro-Demolition.
Using the correct test results.
Finding information as research diminishes.

30. A Different Use for Cavitation.
Controlling cracks while removing material.
Cavitation compared with Abrasive Waterjet Cutting.
Control of cavitation damage location.
Usefully applying cavitation to remove material.