Theoretical and experimental investigations of surface generation induced by ultrasonic assisted grinding

Ultrasonic assisted machining has been proved to have good performance for difficult to cut materials. Due to the complex contact between abrasives and workpiece, in-depth insight of material removal process of ultrasonic assisted grinding (UAG) is still challenging. In this investigation, ultrasonic surface texture is studied considering the effects of the grinding wheel topography, brittle-ductile transition behavior and ultrasonic vibration. A novel theoretical model of the grinding wheel topography is reconstructed considering the shape, size and random arrangement of abrasives. Based on this, surface topography prediction is conducted by the numerical method. The simulation analysis demonstrated that interference and self-interference of abrasive grits induced by ultrasonic vibration are the primary patterns, which explains the material removal mechanism in the UAG process. Furthermore, the grinding damages of the brittle and ductile grinding are parameterized based on different brittle and hard nature. Surface topography and surface roughness are predicted and analyzed by comparisons of simulation and experimental results. Those models proposed in this paper have potential for in-depth understanding the material removal process and optimizing the process parameters of the UAG process.