Water jet cutting techniques for processing of hard rock material

Abstract The main emphasis in this paper is on the use of high pressure water jets for processing of hard rock materials in the mining and quarrying Industries. On the basis of a brief review of the existing literature and the laboratory results It is shown that the only way that the water jets could be used for these applications is to use them in combination with the mechanical cutters, be it water-jet-assist or mechanical-assist. Further improvement in performance could probably be achieved by incorporating the newly developing techniques, viz., cavitating, percussive or pulsed and abrasive-entrained water Jets into these hybrid systems. Problem areas and controversies existing in the literature are identified and it is strongly recommended that attempts be made to resolve these problems.