Ultrasonic Machining: A Total Mechanical Machining Technology Using Loose Abrasive Particles

Abstract

Although manufacturing technologies are well developed for materials like metals and their alloys, considerable problems still exist in the fabrication of hard and brittle materials including ceramics and glass. Their superior physical and mechanical properties lead to long machining cycle and high production cost. Ultrasonic machining (USM) using loose abrasive particles suspended in a liquid slurry for material removal is considered an effective method for manufacturing these materials. This work gives a brief overview of USM first and then mainly addresses the development of a simulation model of this process using a mesh-free numerical technique, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). The crack formation on the work surface impacted by two abrasive particles is studied for understanding the material removal and the interaction of abrasive particles in USM. Experiments are also conducted to verify the simulation results. The SPH model is proven useful for studying USM and is capable of predicting the machining performance.