Surface topography characterization of USMM during machining of zirconia ceramic using silicon carbide abrasives: An experimental and simulation approach

Zirconia is a highly biodegradable ceramic material with excellent fracture resistance, in biomedical engineering, particularly dental implants. This research work has been focused on optimizing the quality of micro-hole generation in zirconia ceramic through ultrasonic micromachining (USMM). Three key process parameters such as abrasive slurry concentration, tool feed rate, and power rating are considered in this research work. The material removal rate, overcut, and taper angle are considered as responses. Response surface methodology has been employed for modeling during the USMM process, and a mathematical model has been developed to understand material removal mechanisms. Finite element analysis has been utilized to provide insights into the impacting process for industry requirements. A 3D model has been created to perform dynamic analysis under practical conditions. Multi-objective optimization has been applied to achieve optimum material removal rate (MRR), overcut, and taper angle. From multi-objective optimization, a slurry concentration of 49.59% g/l, tool feed rate of 1.16 mm/min, and power rating of 386.87 W has been found and in this parameter settings maximum MRR of 0.5333 mm³/min, minimum taper angle of 0.3428 degrees, and minimum overcut of 36.64 µm has been obtained during machining of ZrO₂ ceramics.