Water Jet Technology Benefits
The high pressure water jet technology (HPWJ), three decades old, has finally matured to the point where it is well understood theoretically and is also widely used in various industrial applications.
The most important benefit of the HPWJ is the ability to transport energy into the work-piece and create high-energy flux in the collision area. The collision event is assisted by shock waves, hammer effect, cavitation, micro-cracking and hydro wedging. These conditions combine for a very efficient material treatment in different environments under a wide envelope of work parameters. The interaction with the work piece, of the HPWJ (liquid) and hydro-abrasive jets, has unique properties, which make it suitable for applications in cutting soft and very hard materials, including the newest materials, which are not machine-able by conventional tools. The jet nature, its mechanic and dynamic properties and working parameters flexibility and adaptability are utilized in the following applications: cleaning industrial systems, mining and civil engineering, medicine, two and three dimensional machining, material comminution, cooling and lubricating of mechanical tools, and many more. The jet technology applications are justified economically. Some of the applications are so unique that are not substitutable and new applications are being discovered every day.
Non-conventional Applications
All kinds of materials can be disintegrated into smaller particles in micron and nano size range dimensions. Modern material technologies are based on powderized materials for machines components, precious metal powders for electronic applications, and metal ultra-fine powders for rocket fuels. High Pressure Water Jet can be applied in many pharmaceutical processes and wastes management technologies because of its ability to create products having extremely high specific surfaces. Here are some of the High Pressure Water Jet applications based on Dr. Mazurkiewicz's research:
  • Ultra-fine disintegration of minerals is very vital for modern ceramic and ceramic-composite material production. The densification, formulation and homogenization of the ultra-small particles are the most important processes justifying final material properties and process economy (US Patent 6,318,649).
  • Comminution of coal creates an opportunity to produce coal-water slurry fuel to drive industrial systems, as well as, to produce heating oil. The coal comminution by liquid jets can create a source of hydrogen for a new generation of power (Invention disclosure number 85-UMR-009)
  • Whole wood chips disintegration can be used to produce wood pulp more economically than through the use of the existing technologies. It can also be used for the purpose of pulping sugar beets, sugar cane, agriculture waste disintegration for methane production and can be utilized for the pharmaceutical processes (US Patent 4,723,715)
  • Conditions created by high pressure jets can be applied to sterilize drinking water and many other liquid products and wastes (Invention disclosure number 93-UMR-053)
  • The energy flux delivered by liquid jet under high pressure has been successfully applied to support the conventional metal machining (US Patent 5,148,728) as a lubri-coolant that extended the tool life and improved the technological parameters significantly. Its application has a special benefit in machining difficult to machine materials.
  • The jet?s aggressive penetrability can be used to assist mechanical tools in applications like hydraulic jackhammers, quarrying, deep and rapid drilling devices, and reinforcing mining tools (Patent pending).
  • The removal of material during drilling operations can be significantly improved by using water jets with its processor controlled trajectory (US Patent 6,435,435 B1). The drilling process can be performed without drill stem rotation.
  • The ability to generate jets of very small diameter or a cloud of tiny high-energy droplets has been applied to introduce DNA into living cells and tissues (US Patent 6,107,095). It has also been applied in a herbicide and pesticide application in the agricultural industry (US Patent 5,527,366).