Program development on cleaning pattern and performance evaluation for low pressure waterjet

Abstract

Waterjet is a device that cuts or crushes materials using water pressure injected through the nozzle. Especially, Low pressure waterjet is used in stripping and cleaning work. The cleaning patterns of the low pressure waterjet is determined by various design variables, such as the number of nozzles, an angle of nozzles, gear ratio and so on. In order to optimize the cleaning pattern, the optimum waterjet design is required depending on the shape of the target structure. To do this, a large number of waterjet analysis models should be used. This study reduced design time by automating the creation of the desired analysis model with simple changes in design variables, and conducted evaluation of the cleaning patterns using numerical method for the most frequently used cylindrical structures. In addition, it analyzed the effects of changes in design variables and suggested improvements. Moreover, the idea of a module type waterjet was proposed to reduce the cost of waterjet replacement due to usage changes. This study can be used to design the waterjet, which suits a particular purpose.