Experimental and numerical investigation of the flow process of high-pressure water jets and their interaction with technical component surfaces

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Sergiy Antonyuk; Professor Dr. Christian Schindler
• Subject Area: Production Automation and Assembly Technology ; Engineering Design, Machine Elements, Product Development
• Term: from 2016 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 283813424

In the field of mechanical engineering, liquid erosion plays an important role in the surface material removal of technical components. Although this phenomenon is used in manufacturing technology specifically for the machining of parts, it often occurs as an undesirable influence in many technical applications, causing damage or even failure of components. In order to analyze this phenomenon of liquid erosion scientifically, with the aim to both optimize the process of material removal in pro-duction technology and reduce unwanted erosion in other technical systems, numerous time-consuming and expensive tests are required. A specific role in this case play high-pressure water jets which are often used for machining parts in manufacturing processes. High pressure water jets are used to realize a defined level of liquid erosion in the development of components that are sensitive to that phenomenon. With the scope of this proposed research project, the flow process of high-pressure water jets will be examined, including the flow behavior in the jet nozzle, the breakup of the jet and the droplet impingement on the affected component surface. The breakup and the interaction with the solid material will be analyzed in using laser measurements and high speed photography as well as piezoelectric and piezoresistive measurement methods. Based on the results, a method shall be developed using which, the entire flow process can be numerically simulated with the Finite Volume Method and the Euler-Euler Method. The final aim is to support and improve the process of virtual product development in a threefold manner: by minimizing the undesirable erosion of components in the early stages of product development process, by opti-mizing the surface processing from the point of view of production technology and finally by reduc-ing the number of experiments required to analyze this phenomenon.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants