The study of abrasive water jet side cutting process using the coupled FEM-SPH method

In the field of machining hard and brittle materials, computer numerical control (CNC) machining processes often face challenges such as tool wear and material fracture. Abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining provides a viable alternative. However, traditional AWJ machining is not suitable for surface machining since the entire jet beam acts on the workpiece for the material cutting functions. This study proposes a novel AWJ cutting technique that utilizes a portion of the jet beam for machining, and develops a simulation model based on the coupled finite element method (FEM) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. By discretizing the fluid phases and abrasive particles with SPH and modeling the solids with FEM, this approach overcomes mesh distortion and accuracy limitations of single-method techniques. Based on the developed model, we systematically investigate the influence of the side cutting coefficient T on the AWJ side cutting process. Results show that the simulation values of the side cutting process are in good agreement with experimental values, and the prediction error rates are less than 6%. The model is applicable for research on AWJ side cutting and material removal.