Blind Cutting Engine Motor Case with High-Pressure Water Jet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for cutting the thruster body of aerospace transport vehicles using high-pressure jets face challenges such as depth variability, pollution risks, and the complexity of emptying propellant residues, which can alter the quality of draining and hinder evacuation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving multiple passes of a high-pressure water jet along a closed-loop cutting path around the external perimeter of the propellant body, using abrasive water jets initially to cut composite materials cleanly and pure water jets later to reduce pollution, while detecting the end of cutting to control depth and avoid altering the propellant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If non-through cutting is performed by passing the water jet back over the same cutting path to close the cut, then the cut is completed, but the depth obtained locally is doubled which risks reaching the propellant inside the thruster
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting path is divided into multiple segments by introducing transition zones where the jet does not immediately return. This segmentation prevents the doubling of cut depth at any single location while still achieving complete closure of the cut through multiple sequential passes.
Solution Approach 2:
The method introduces preliminary transition zones before the jet returns to previously cut areas. These transition zones prepare the cutting path by creating offset starting points for subsequent passes, ensuring that when the jet does return to close the cut, it does so at controlled locations rather than immediately doubling the depth.
2Manufacturing precision
If abrasive water jet is used for cutting, then cutting quality is improved without delamination or significant heating, but there is high potential for pollution of the materials to be treated
Solution Approach 1:
The method employs periodic switching between abrasive water jet and pure water jet modes throughout the cutting process. Abrasive jet is used during initial passes for quality cutting, then periodically replaced by pure water jet in later passes to remove debris and reduce pollution, while maintaining cutting effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The method changes the composition parameter of the water jet by switching between abrasive-containing water and pure water. This parameter change allows the system to optimize for cutting quality when abrasive is needed, and for pollution reduction when pure water is applied, particularly in transition zones and final passes.
3Ease of operation
If the rear bottom of the loads is removed before emptying to eliminate retracting bottoms, then the emptying process is simplified, but the cutting must not damage the propellant contained in the thruster
Solution Approach 1:
The method replaces traditional mechanical cutting tools with high-pressure water jet technology. This substitution eliminates mechanical contact that could cause delamination or excessive heating of the propellant, while still achieving the necessary cut depth to remove the rear bottom and simplify emptying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The method carefully controls the pressure parameter of the water jet to achieve effective cutting of the thruster body while preventing penetration that would damage the propellant. By adjusting pressure levels and controlling pass depth, the system achieves the right balance between cutting effectiveness and propellant protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method achieves clean, non-through cutting of the thruster body's external and internal layers without altering the propellant, simplifying the emptying process, and minimizing pollution and heating risks.
Implementation Method 1
a method for non-through cutting by water jets of a body of a propellant... comprising a plurality of passes of a high-pressure water jet along the same cutting path
Implementation Method 2
at least the first high-pressure water jet pass may use an abrasive water jet... allows cutting to begin cleanly, particularly for cutting the composite material layer
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for blind cutting, by water jets, of a motor case of an aerospace vehicle, the method comprising a plurality of passes (210, 230) of a high-pressure water jet along the same cutting path travelling across the outer perimeter of the motor case, the cutting path describing a closed-loop circuit, and each pass of the water jet starting from a starting point located on the cutting path and stopping just after passing back over the starting location. The starting point of each pass of the high-pressure water jet is different from the starting points of the other passes of the water jet.