Cutting characteristics of abrasive waterjet with steel slag replacing the garnet particles

Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) is a high efficiency method for cutting, but the high cost of garnet consumption has limited the applications. Steel slag, a solid waste from steel production, was used to replace garnet in AWJ cutting in this study. In this study, marble, the material most commonly cut by AWJ, was used as the specimen. The cutting characteristics were evaluated by the kerf depth, width, and pofile, as well as the cross section morphology and the economic benefit. Four main processing parameters of jet pressure (P), standoff distance (S), abrasive flow rate (Ma), and traverse speed (Ts) were considered in steel slag abrasive waterjet (SAWJ). Garnet abrasive waterjet (GAWJ) cuttings were also conducted for comparison. The results show that both the kerf width and depth of SAWJ are smaller than those of GAWJ, and are affected by S the most. The average cutting depth of SAWJ is about 75.0% of that of GAWJ. However, the economic efficiency of the SAWJ is at least 39.0% higher than that of the GAWJ when cost is taken into account. The cross section produced by SAWJ can also be divided into the cutting wear zone and the striation zone, with the material removal mainly by micro cutting and erosion effect, respectively. This study helps explain the physical process of material removal by SAWJ and provides an effective and economical method of AWJ.