An experimental study of drilling small and deep blind holes with an abrasive water jet

Abstract

In this paper an experimental study of drilling small and deep holes with a continuous abrasive water jet is presented. The abrasive water jet (AWJ) is a process that can be used for drilling a vast variety of materials. The main advantage of the AWJ is the absence of the heat-affected zone and its flexibility. Drilling tests were performed on different materials and the hole depth and diameter were observed at different machining times. It was found that when drilling different materials with a continuous jet, the depth and diameter of the hole increase with a power function. These findings were then used to develop an empirical model for predicting hole depths and diameters at different drilling times.