Investigation on Performance and Kerf Characteristics during Cryogenic-Assisted Suspension-Type Abrasive Water Jet Machining of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber

The need for soft polymer (such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (ABR)) components in mating applications is increasing in several sectors, viz. automobile, mining, and marine, due to their viscoelastic nature with improved surface quality and tighter geometric tolerances. Therefore, this paper aims to compare the effect of cryogenic conditions on the performance parameters of the suspension-type abrasive water jet (S-AWJ) machining and investigate the kerf characteristics of the top and bottom surface by comparing the waviness of the cut profiles and abrasive contamination of the top surface near the vicinity of the slot under conventional (room temperature) and cryogenic (liquid nitrogen (LN₂)) conditions. The study found that the use of LN₂ positively affected the performance parameters (Kerf taper ratio (KT_R) and material removal rate (MRR)) due to a sudden increase in Young’s modulus and a decrease in elasticity of the machining zone. The cryogenic-assisted S-AWJ at the highest water jet pressure (WJP) (250 bar) produced better kerf characteristics through uniform and waviness-free top and bottom kerf profiles than the other experimental sequences. The use of LN₂ resulted in the embrittlement of ABR, due to which less garnet abrasive particle contamination was observed during cryogenic-assisted S-AWJ machining.