Rock-cutting ability and field application research of a novel slurry abrasive water jet cutting system

Abstract The abrasive water jet (AWJ) is an innovative technology employed in underground engineering to enhance the stability of surrounding rock, facilitate unconventional oil and gas development, and rock breaking in tunnel engineering. However, current AWJ cutting systems often face challenges related to intricate operational processes and an incontiguous supply of abrasive particles. Here, a novel slurry abrasive water jet (S-AWJ) cutting system has been developed to fulfill the operational requirement of underground engineering. Some rock-cutting experiments under different parameter combinations (cutting method, abrasive type and size, water-to-abrasive mass ratio, standoff distance, jet pressure, nozzle diameter, and traverse speed) were conducted to investigate the rock-cutting ability of the novel S-AWJ cutting system. Additionally, the field application of the novel S-AWJ cutting system in a coal mine was analyzed. The results reveal that the novel S-AWJ cutting system outperforms the pure water jet. The cutting depth increases with increased abrasive particle size, content, and jet pressure. Moreover, the cutting depth shows a trend of initially increasing and subsequently decreasing with the elevation of the standoff distance. The cutting depth is negatively correlated with the traverse speed. Lower traverse speeds result in reduced cutting efficiency and increased abrasive consumption. The cutting depth is not significantly affected by the nozzle diameter. The process parameters are recommended to achieve optimal cutting ability. Combined with the S-AWJ cutting mechanism, there is a higher correlation between cutting depth and rock compressive strength. Furthermore, field cutting tests demonstrate that the novel S-AWJ cutting system exhibits a positive actual application effect. This study provides a theoretical basis for parameter optimization and field applications of the novel S-AWJ cutting system in underground engineering.