Experimental Investigation on Influence of Process Parameters of Abrasive Water Jet Machining on Kerf Taper of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

The present paper describes an experimental investigation on the influence of process parameters namely water pressure, stand-off distance and traverse speed of abrasive water jet machine (AWJM) on kerf taper of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite (GFRP) composite. Design of Experiment is done with the help of Taguchi methodology and Taguchi’s L25 orthogonal array is selected for experiments. By using vision measuring system kerf top width and bottom width are measured and then kerf taper angle is calculated. Analysis of variance is used to determine the effect of machining parameters on kerf taper of machined GFRP. It is found that hydraulic pressure and traverse rate are the most significant parameters to control kerf taper. A set of optimum process parameters is determined on the basis of analysis of experimental data.