Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the fatigue performance of AWJ-machined aircraft titanium. Dog-bone specimens machined with AWJs were prepared and tested with and without sanding and dry-grit blasting with Al2O3 as secondary processes. The secondary processes were applied to remove the visual appearance of AWJ-generated striations and to clean up the garnet embedment. The fatigue performance of AWJ-machined specimens was compared with baseline specimens machined with CNC milling. Fatigue test results not only confirmed the findings of the aluminum dog-bone specimens but also further enhance the fatigue performance. In addition, titanium is known to be notoriously difficult to cut with contact tools while AWJs cut it 34% faster than stainless steel. AWJ cutting and dry-grit blasting are shown to be a preferred combination for processing aircraft titanium that is fatigue critical.
Revised: December 27, 2012 |
Published: October 4, 2010
Citation
Liu H.T., Y. Hovanski, and M.E. Dahl. 2010.Machining of Aircraft Titanium with Abrasive-Waterjets for Fatigue Critical Applications. In ASME 2010 Pressure Vessels and Piping Division/K-PVP Conference (PVP2010), July 18–22, 2010, Bellevue, Washington, 5, 42-53; Paper No. PVP2010-25063. New York, New York:American Society of Mechanical Engineers.PNNL-SA-72050.doi:10.1115/PVP2010-25063