MONITORING THE ABRASIVE BLASTING PROCESS USING STRAIN GAUGE FORCE MEASUREMENT

The abrasive blasting process is designed for blasting structurally complex components or structures. The target of blasting is to achieve an optimal surface finish on structures, for example, prior to the application of an anti-corrosion coating. The effectiveness of abrasive blasting technology is highly sensitive to the settings of key operating conditions, which include air pressure and air flow rate, the amount and type of abrasive material, and the size of the nozzle. The aim of this research is to determine the influence of the settings of selected key operating parameters on the forces acting on the nozzle holder and the blasting plate platform. Brown fused alumina abrasive material in various particle size distribution was used for the experimental verification. The results demonstrated the applicability of this method for automating the adjustment of operating conditions in the blasting process to ensure continuous operation.