Analytical model of micromachining of brittle materials with sharp particles

We present an analytical model for the powder blasting of brittle materials with sharp particles. We developed a continuum equation, which describes the surface evolution during the powder blasting, into which we introduced surface energetics as the major relaxation mechanism. The experimental and the calculated erosion rates match extremely well. Also, the developed model explains why the sidewalls of a powder blasted channel are not straight, e.g. have a blast lag, for which we also found a good agreement between experiments and theory.