Performance of Abrasive Waterjet in Granite Cutting: Influence of the Textural Properties

In this study, influence of the textural properties, e. g., grain size and its boundaries, of granite on the cutting performance of abrasive waterjet (AWJ) was experimentally investigated. In the experiments, predimensioned granite samples were cut by an abrasive waterjet. Following the cutting process, the cut depth, surface roughness, and kerf angle of the granites were evaluated. As a result, it was disclosed that the cut depths and surface roughness increased when the grain size of the granites decreased. Contrary to the behavior of the cut depths and surface roughness of the granites, the kerf angle of the granites increased with an increase of the grain size. Conversely, it was concluded that the high number of the grain boundaries led to an obtainment of higher cut depths and surface roughness, whereas it caused a lower kerf angle. Additionally, it was found that the grains horizontally lying through the cutting line resulted in lower surface roughness and cut depths, whereas the grains vertically allocated through the cutting line resulted in higher cut depths and surface roughness. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000459. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.