The Effect Of Tangential Velocity Component In Abrasive Jet Micro-Machining Of Borosilicate Glass

Abstract

Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.Generally two types of erosion testers are used in solid particle erosion testing: air blast erosion testers and mechanically powered erosion testers. In the first portion of this thesis, the feasibility of implementing a mechanically powered erosion tester for abrasive jet micro-machining applications using very small particles was studied. It was found that, due to the ultrahigh vacuum requirement, such a device would not be practical. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, the designed rotary mechanism was utilized as a rotary disc target holder apparatus and blasted with a typical air blast system. The apparatus could add or deduct a tangential velocity component into the system, allowing for detailed studies of the effect that the tangential velocity component has on the erosion of borosilicate glass using 25-150 μm aluminum oxide particles. Although the tangential velocity effect has been ignored for brittle materials by most researchers, the present results show that it can have an important role in erosion rate.