Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics to examine influence of process parameters on ultrasonic machining

The initiation and propagation of cracks generated on a work surface during UltraSonic Machining (USM) were simulated using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). Different abrasive materials, tool materials, and abrasive sizes were used in this simulation. The distribution and size of the calculated cracks were found to be strongly influenced by different process conditions. According to the simulation results, using tools with a lower yield strength and slurry comprising softer and smaller abrasives decreases the crack size. Experiments were conducted to drill deep blind holes in soda-lime glass by USM and observe the cracks remaining on the machined surfaces. The experimental results agreed well with the simulation results. This work was the first to visualize the crack formation during USM under different process parameters with the SPH method. The results may be very useful for improving the machining performance of the USM process.