Title: Abrasive liquid jet as a flexible polishing tool

Authors: H. Liu, J. Wang, C.Z. Huang

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. ' School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. ' School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China

Abstract: As a flexible polishing technology, abrasive jet using water or other liquids as the flow medium (and hence called abrasive liquid jet) has been used for deburring and polishing applications. It has the advantage of polishing on various complex curved surfaces without the need for special tooling. This paper presents an overview of the principles of the abrasive liquid jet polishing technology and the polishing mechanisms, followed by the analysis of the polishing performance. The simulation and modelling studies for the abrasive liquid jet polishing process are then discussed. Finally, the future research and application trends of this polishing technology are given.

Keywords: abrasive jets; liquid jets; polishing mechanisms; polishing models; polishing process; flexible polishing; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2008.015884

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2008 Vol.31 No.1, pp.2 - 13

Published online: 02 Dec 2007 *

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