Modeling and analysis of developed Thermal additive Centrifugal Abrasive Flow Machining process

Abstract

In the present scenario due to manufacturing revolution there is a huge demand of mechanical components having high surface finish and a long life cycle. Demand of high surface finish, leads to development of new techniques for nano finishing of intricate shapes, such as Abrasive flow machining (AFM) and hybrid forms of it. During the abrasive flow finishing process, abrasive particles impart a huge impact force on the work piece surface to increase surface finish. This research paper discuss about a newly developed thermal additive centrifugal abrasive flow machining process (TACAFM) and also develops a mathematical model for the material removal of developed process at a given thermal energy pulse. Novelty of TACAFM process reduced the force applied by the abrasive particles and also decreased the loss of energy. In this hybrid process abrasive particles can easily remove the molten/ semi molten material from the work surface under thermal spark mechanism. The experimental results showed material removal in case of TACAFM process is almost double in comparison of conventional AFM process. The oxide layers and molten material on work surface was also observed from SEM images, which clearly indicated the domination of thermal effect over AFM. Also the parameters were optimized for the residual stress in case of TACAFM process and optimum residual stress was found as −152.21 MPa, which shows compressive stress developed on the surface due to the thermal effect. The experimental result showed current is the most significant parameter in TACAFM process and its contribution was found as 91.8%.

An experimental investigation of process parameters on material removal and surface roughness improvement in abrasive flow machining

“…With more contact area, each particle can engage more effectively in cutting. Also, larger grit provides a more aggressive abrasion action, enhancing the material removal process [19].…”

“…This is because finer particles come into contact with the surface, leading to more effective smoothing. The finer particles (grit size 350) have more edges and a larger collective surface area, which enhances the abrasive action and smooths the surface more effectively [19].…”

“…The results demonstrate that the proposed model can accurately predict MR, with a predictive error (δerror) of 6.4% for profile height variation (ΔH) and 6.9% for mass variation (ΔM) achieved in the validation experiments. Ali et al [19] have introduced a novel thermal additive centrifugal abrasive flow machining method (TACAFM) and discussed their research along with the development of a mathematical model for MR at a specific thermal energy pulse. This innovative TACAFM process aims to reduce both the force and energy loss typically associated with abrasive particles during material removal.…”