An incoming water control for use in a wet abrasive blasting system includes an incoming water supply with a pressure of between 1 psi and 200 psi, a pressure reducing valve for reducing the pressure of the incoming water supply, and an air over water pneumatic piston style water pump that incorporates check valves. The pump receives water having a water pressure of less than 20 psi from the pressure reducing valve and the pump delivers water to a blast pot pressure vessel of the wet abrasive blasting system to pressurize the blast pot pressure vessel filled with water and abrasive.

A waterjet system is provided, including a pump configured to pump fluid, an electric motor configured to drive the pump, a hopper configured to store abrasive, and a mixing chamber configured to mix abrasive from the hopper and the fluid from the pump to produce a slurry. A cutting bed is configured to receive a workpiece to be cut. A cutting head is configured to expel the slurry through the outlet nozzle as a high-velocity jet into the cutting bed.

Abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located above or below ground or above the surface of a body of water. Abrasive is conducted to an abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the flow rate of abrasive.

An abrasive waterjet system in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology includes a cutting head, a catcher downstream from the cutting head, and a conveyance configured to carry slurry including abrasive material and liquid collected from the catcher toward the cutting head. The cutting head includes a jet-forming orifice and a mixing chamber downstream from the jet-forming orifice. The cutting head also includes a slurry inlet through which the mixing chamber receives slurry including abrasive material and liquid collected from the catcher. The abrasive waterjet system can be configured for substantially closed-loop recycling of wet abrasive material. This can be useful, for example, to increase abrasive material utilization efficiency and to decrease abrasive material disposal costs. These and/or other benefits may be realized both in the context of low pressure abrasive waterjet systems and in the context of high pressure abrasive waterjet systems.

Waterjet systems including control valves and associated devices, systems, and methods are disclosed. A waterjet system configured in accordance with a particular embodiment includes a fluid source, a jet outlet, and a fluid conveyance extending from the fluid source to the jet outlet. The system further includes a control valve positioned along the fluid conveyance downstream from the fluid source and upstream from the jet outlet. The fluid conveyance has a first portion upstream from the control valve and a second portion downstream from the control valve. The control valve is configured to controllably reduce a pressure of fluid within the second portion of the fluid conveyance relative to a pressure of fluid within the first portion of the fluid conveyance. The first portion of the fluid conveyance is configured to accommodate movement of the jet outlet relative to the fluid source.

The use of abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located at the bottom of a body of water. Abrasive is conducted to an abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the differential pressure between the cutting head and reservoir of abrasive material and maintains the pressure at the abrasive reservoir greater than the pressure hydrostatic pressure at the cutting head.

Abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located above or below ground. Abrasive is conducted to an entrainment abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the flow rate of abrasive.

The use of abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located at the bottom of a body of water. Abrasive is conducted to an abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the differential pressure between the cutting head and reservoir of abrasive material and maintains the pressure at the abrasive reservoir greater than the pressure hydrostatic pressure at the cutting head.

Abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located above or below ground or above the surface of a body of water. Abrasive is conducted to an abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the flow rate of abrasive.

Abrasive entrainment waterjet technology to cut objects located above or below ground. Abrasive is conducted to an entrainment abrasive waterjet cutting head under the control of an abrasive feed and metering system that monitors the flow rate of abrasive.