Heterogeneous components removal mechanism and grinding force model from energy aspect in ultrasonic grinding continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composites

Continuous fiber reinforced metal matrix composites (CFMMCs) offer higher specific strength, specific modulus, and operating temperature than matrix metals due to the unique enforcement mechanism of the one-to-one scale arrangement of matrix and reinforced phases. Due to the heterogeneous characteristics between the plastic matrix and brittle fibers, the removal mechanism of CFMMCs during processing is exceptionally complex. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding (UVAG) shows great advantages in machining difficult-to-cut materials (i.e., ceramics and composites) by changing the motion trajectory between grains and workpieces, effectively reducing grinding force and improving machining quality. However, little is known about the removal mechanism of UVAG for CFMMCs composed of the ductile (i.e., metal matrix) and brittle (i.e., SiC fiber) phases with highly anisotropic structure characteristics. This raises the question of how CFMMCs with heterogeneous components perform under abrasive processing and how to predict their processing forces. Hence, UVAG and conventional grinding (CG) experiments with single CBN grain were carried out on SiC fiber reinforced TC17 matrix composites (SiC_f/TC17) in this work. A grinding force model considering both phases and materials structure from energy aspect was proposed. A theoretical model for suppressing SiC fiber damage has been proposed, which is expected to guide low-damage processing of brittle materials. According to the results, the removal models of CFMMCs are revealed including: i) macro fracture of SiC fiber, ii) neat fracture of SiC fiber, and iii) TC17 matrix massive adhesion on the SiC fiber. Besides, no cracks crossing fibers are observed on the subsurface of SiC fiber under both UVAG and CG due to the good support of the TC17 matrix on SiC fibers. The grinding force predicted model error decreases as a_p increases. When a_p is 50 μm, the errors between predicted and experimental values are 7.8 % and 9.1 % for normal forces (F_n) and tangential forces (F_t), respectively. Ultrasound suppresses the severe wear behavior of grains, thereby improving the tool life. This paper aims to comprehensively reveal the characteristics of abrasive processing of CFMMCs from various aspects (surface morphology, subsurface features, grinding force prediction, and tool wear), which will promote the industrial application of CFMMCs.