Numerical investigation of the flow field inside and outside high-pressure abrasive waterjet nozzle

Numerical simulation was performed for the flow field inside and outside high-pressure abrasive waterjet nozzle under submerging conditions based on Fluent software. RNG kappa-epsilon turbulent model and Simple algorithm were selected for numerical simulation. The simulation results indicate that, there exist free jet zone, shock zone and wall jet zone in the external flow field of nozzle; the portion of abrasive jet farther from the target wall is of free jet structure; the shock pressure field on the target wall is normal distribution; the best shock range is 2-7 times the exit diameter of nozzle; the shock pressure of jet is proportional to the inlet pressure, and is inversely proportional to the range. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology( Beijing), McGill University and University of Wollongong.