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Abrading
Erosion by mechanical or particulate impact (could be waterjet stripping or abrasive blasting). Also, surface preparation of a substrate that is intended to roughen the surface profile of the material and remove foreign materials.
Abrasive
Material (such as crushed chilled cast iron, crushed steel grit, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, flint, garnet, or crushed slag) used for cleaning or surface roughening.
Abrasive blasting
A method of propelling abrasive using a compressed gas (typically air) or pressurized liquid (typically water) as the propellant. Also known by terms related to the abrasive media in use, including: sand blasting, shot blasting, grit blasting, bead blasting and blast cleaning.
Air filter
Mechanism for cleaning air of contaminants such as water, oil and solid matter.
Alloy
A substance having metallic properties and being composed of two or more chemical elements of which at least one is metal.Alumina
The chemical compound aluminum oxide. A ceramic used in powder or rod form in thermal spraying operations. May also be used as an abrasive grit blasting medium.Aluminum oxide abrasive
A blast cleaning abrasive manufactured by fusing the mineral bauxite at high temperature. The fused aluminum oxide is crushed, dried, and screened (sieved).Blast angle
Angle of a blasting nozzle relative to the surface being blasted with abrasive, shot or waterjet.Blast nozzle
Device through which abrasive or shot is propelled onto a surface during grit blasting or shot peening. The two primary types of blast nozzles are (1) the straight bore nozzle, which has a small opening and a concentration of power in the center of the blast pattern; and (2) the Venturi nozzle, which has a large mouth, tapered mid-section, and a flared opening.
Breakdown rate
The rate at which abrasive or shot particles become too small to be reused after a certain number of impacts (blasting or peening cycles).Corrosion
The chemical or electrochemical reaction between a metal and its environment that results in the loss of material and its properties. Metals corrode because they exist in chemically unstable states.Dew point
The temperature at which air becomes saturated with water, that is, when the air is at 100 percent relative humidity. Below this temperature, moisture will condense and produce dew or fog. As air cools, the amount of water vapor it can hold decreases.Embedment
The adherence of particles of blast cleaning abrasive (or broken shot) on a substrate. The particles cannot be removed by brushing or blowing down with compressed air.High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter
An air filter that removes 99.97 percent of all particles larger than 0.3 microns.
Pressure pot
A closed container that provides a uniform flow of material at a consistent pressure to the blast nozzle in pneumatic blasting and shot peening.
Sieving
A process in which abrasives or shot peen media is passed through one or more screens and classified according to particle size.
Wet blasting or wet peening
Combining water and abrasives or ceramic beads in a blast operation for cleaning or shot peening.