The aim of the research was to investigate changes of abrasive grains on metals observing the kerf walls produced by the Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ). The microscopy observations of the sidewalls of kerfs cut by the AWJ in several metal materials with an identical thickness of 10 mm are presented. The observed sizes of abrasive grains were compared with the results of research aimed at the disintegration of the abrasive grains during the mixing process in the cutting head during the injection AWJ creation. Some correlations were discovered and verified. The kerf walls observations show the size of material disintegration caused by the individual abrasive grains and also indicate the size of these grains. One part of this short communication is devoted to a critical look at some of the conclusions of the older published studies, namely regarding the correlation of the number of interacting particles with the acoustic emissions measured on cut materials. The discussion is aimed at the abrasive grain size after the mixing process and changes of this size in the interaction with the target material.

Department of Materials Science and Materials Technology Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering Kielce University of Technology al Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego 7 25 314 Kielce Poland

Department of Mining and Geology Faculty of Mining and Geology VSB Technical University of Ostrava 17 Listopadu 2172 15 Poruba 70800 Ostrava Czech Republic

Department of Physics Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science VSB Technical University of Ostrava 17 Listopadu 2172 15 Poruba 70800 Ostrava Czech Republic

Institute of Clean Technologies for Mining and Utilization of Raw Materials for Energy Use Faculty of Mining and Geology VSB Technical University of Ostrava 17 Listopadu 2172 15 Poruba 70800 Ostrava Czech Republic

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