Perspective study of abrasive water jet machining of composites — a review

Even though composite materials are prominent amongst the advanced engineering materials, but machining of composites using conventional machining processes is difficult and uneconomical due to their specific properties such as anisotropy and non-homogenous nature. Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is proved to be an efficient and economical process for machining of composites in manufacturing industries. In this paper, the published literature during the last three decades (1991–2020) in the domain of AWJM of composites is reviewed. It elucidates the influence of process parameters on response characteristics of AWJM with key outcomes of different responses and examines the morphology of the machined specimens. Various modelling and optimization methods for the identifications of machining parameters of AWJM have been effectively scrutinized in tabular form. Based on the critical literature review, research gaps are identified and scope of machining potential of AWJM is also discussed in the last part of the present paper.