Analysis of material removal behavior in ultrasonically assisted scratching of RB-SiC from energy aspects

Abstract

With its outstanding features such as low machining loads and high material removal rate, ultrasonic-assisted grinding (UAG) has been generally accepted as an effective processing technique for hard and brittle materials. To improve UAG performance, the basic mechanisms of material removal need further investigation. This study investigates the material removal ability of both ultrasonic-assisted scratching (UAS) test and conventional scratching (CS) test by analogy with the behavior of single-grain during UAG and conventional grinding (CG), in an attempt to quantitatively reveal the coupling relationship between the vibration parameters and process parameters. With the accuracy setting ensured by acoustic emission sensors, the study used a Rockwell indenter as the scratching tool in scratching tests with various cutting depths and vibration amplitudes. The scratching forces and computer-processed topographic data were analyzed from an energy aspect. Results showed that UAS had better material removal ability and lower scratching forces. The study further demonstrates the improvement that ultrasonic vibration brought to the energy input during the scratching process, which is considered the key factor to the UAS effectiveness regarding material removal.