Water Jet Assisted Cutting

Greater mining productivity requires a more efficient cutting process. The cutting force available from today?s mining machines has been optimized with respect to machine size and weight. Researchers have shown that when employing water-jet-assisted cutting, bit forces and drum torques can be reduced significantly, which may allow mining machines to become lighter and more efficient. The Bureau of Mines has initiated a program to develop a water- jet-assisted rotary cutting system using the conventional bit assisted by a directed water jet operating at moderate pressures (3,000 to 10,000 psi). This water-jet-assisted cutting system has the potential to improve cutting efficiency without increasing machine horsepower or water usage (beyond what is presently used for dust control) or requiring fundamental changes in mining practice. IR addition to improvements in productivity, other anticipated benefits of water-jet cutting include reduced generation of respirable dust, elimination of frictional ignitions, increased bit life, reduced fines, and fewer machine vibrations. The papers presented at this open industry meeting discuss the development of water-jet-assisted cutting technology and future application of this technology to a variety of mining techniques including roof drilling and longwall mining.

This volume contains papers presented at the 11th International Conference on Jet Cutting Technology, held at St. Andrews, Scotland, on 8-10 September 1992. Jetting techniques have been successfully applied for many years in the field of cleaning and descaling. Today, however, jet cutting is used in operations as diverse as removing cancerous growths from the human body, decommissioning sunsea installations and disabling explosive munitions. The diversity is reflected in the papers presented at the conference. The papers were divided into several main sections: jetting basics -- materials; jetting basics -- fluid mechanics; mining and quarrying; civil engineering; new developments; petrochem; cleaning and surface treatment; and manufacturing. The high quality of papers presented at the conference has further reinforced its position as the premier event in the field. The volume will be of interest to researchers, developers and manufacturers of systems, equipment users and contractors.