Investigation of Synthesis, Characterization, and Finishing Applications of Spherical Al2O3 Magnetic Abrasives via Plasma Molten Metal Powder and Powder Jetting.

Magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) is an efficient finishing process method using magnetic abrasive particles (MAPs) as finishing tools. In this study, two iron-based alumina magnetic abrasives with different particle size ranges were synthesized by the plasma molten metal powder and powder jetting method. Characterization of the magnetic abrasives in terms of microscopic morphology, phase composition, magnetic permeability, particle size distribution, and abrasive ability shows that the magnetic abrasives are spherical in shape, that the hard abrasives are combined in the surface layer of the iron matrix and remain sharp, and that the hard abrasives combined in the surface layer of the magnetic abrasives with smaller particle sizes are sparser than those of the magnetic abrasives with larger particle sizes. The magnetic abrasives are composed of α-Fe and Al2O3; the magnetic permeability of the magnetic abrasives having smaller particle sizes is slightly higher than that of the magnetic abrasives having larger particle sizes; the two magnetic abrasives are distributed in a range of different particle sizes; the magnetic abrasives have different magnetic permeabilities, which are higher than those of the larger ones; both magnetic abrasives are distributed in the range of smaller particle sizes; and AZ31B alloy can obtain smaller surface roughness of the workpiece after the grinding process of the magnetic abrasives with a small particle size.

Experimental Study on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Groove Machining by High-Power Water-Jet-Guided Laser.

Due to the excellent properties of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs), such as high strength and strong corrosion resistance, the traditional water-jet-guided laser (WJGL) technology has problems with fiber pull-out and has a small cutting depth when processing CFRPs. Therefore, in this study, we used high-power water-jet-guided laser (HPWJGL) technology to perform groove processing experiments on CFRPs. The effects of four key process parameters, high laser power, pulse frequency, feed rate, and water-jet pressure, on the cutting depth were investigated by a single-factor experiment. The formation mechanism of groove cross-section morphology and the processing advantages of high-power water-jet-guided lasers were analyzed. On this basis, the mathematical prediction model of cutting depth was established by using the response surface method (RSM), and the optimal combination of process parameters was obtained. The mathematical prediction model was verified by experiments, and the error was only 1.84%, indicating that the model had a high reference value. This study provides a reference for the precision machining of HPWJGL technology.

Experimental Study on the Preparation of Ultra-Fine Brass Tube Electrodes by Ultrasonic Vibration.

In order to automatically process ultra-fine copper tube electrodes, this study proposes a new method of ultrasonic vibration processing of ultra-fine copper tube, analyzes its processing principle, designs a new set of experimental processing equipment and completes the processing of 1.206 mm inner diameter, 1.276 mm outer diameter with core brass tube. Not only can the copper tube be completed with core decoring, the surface of the processed brass tube electrode also has good integrity. The effect of each machining parameter on the surface roughness of the electrode after machining was investigated by a single-factor experiment and the optimal machining effect was achieved under the conditions of machining gap 0.1 mm, ultrasonic amplitude 0.186 mm, table feed speed 6 mm/min, tube rotation speed 1000 r/min and reciprocating machining two times. The surface roughness was reduced from 1.21 µm before machining to 0.11 µm, and the residual pits, scratches and oxide layer on the surface were completely removed, which greatly improved the surface quality of the brass tube electrode and prolonged its service life.

Investigation of MAF for Finishing the Inner Wall of Super-Slim Cardiovascular Stents Tube.

The internal wall of cardiovascular stent tubing produced by a drawing process has defects such as pits and bumps, making the surface rough and unusable. In this research, the challenge of finishing the inner wall of a super-slim cardiovascular stent tube was solved by magnetic abrasive finishing. Firstly, a spherical CBN magnetic abrasive was prepared by a new method, plasma molten metal powders bonding with hard abrasives; then, a magnetic abrasive finishing device was developed to remove the defect layer from the inner wall of ultrafine long cardiovascular stent tubing; finally, response surface tests were performed and parameters were optimized. The results show that the prepared spherical CBN magnetic abrasive has a perfect spherical appearance; the sharp cutting edges cover the surface layer of the iron matrix; the developed magnetic abrasive finishing device for a ultrafine long cardiovascular stent tube meets the processing requirements; the process parameters are optimized by the established regression model; and the inner wall roughness (Ra) of the nickel-titanium alloy cardiovascular stents tube is reduced from 0.356 µm to 0.083 µm, with an error of 4.3% from the predicted value. Magnetic abrasive finishing effectively removed the inner wall defect layer and reduced the roughness, and this solution provides a reference for polishing the inner wall of ultrafine long tubes.

Investigation of Spherical Al2O3 Magnetic Abrasive Prepared by Novel Method for Finishing of the Inner Surface of Cobalt-Chromium Alloy Cardiovascular Stents Tube.

In this investigation, spherical Al2O3 magnetic abrasive particles (MAPs) were used to polish the inner surface of ultra-fine long cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent tubes. The magnetic abrasives were prepared by combining plasma molten metal powder and hard abrasives, and the magnetic abrasives prepared by this new method are characterized by high sphericity, narrow particle size distribution range, long life, and good economic value. Firstly, the spherical Al2O3 magnetic abrasives were prepared by the new method; secondly, the polishing machine for the inner surface of the ultra-fine long cardiovascular stent tubes was developed; finally, the influence laws of spindle speed, magnetic pole speed, MAP filling quantities, the magnetic pole gap on the surface roughness (Ra), and the removal thickness (RT) of tubes were investigated. The results showed that the prepared Al2O3 magnetic abrasives were spherical in shape, and their superficial layer was tightly bound with Al2O3 hard abrasives with sharp cutting; the use of spherical Al2O3 magnetic abrasives could achieve the polishing of the inner surface of ultra-fine cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular bracket tubes, and after processing, the inner surface roughness (Ra) of the tubes decreased from 0.337 µm to 0.09 µm and had an RT of 5.106 µm.

Modeling and Prediction of Water-Jet-Guided Laser Cutting Depth for Inconel 718 Material Using Response Surface Methodology.

In this study, the water-jet-guided laser (WJGL) method was used to cut Inconel 718 alloy with high temperature resistance. The effect of critical parameters of the water-jet-guided laser machining method on the cutting depth was studied by a Taguchi orthogonal experiment. Furthermore, the mathematical prediction model of cutting depth was established by the response surface method (RSM). The validation experiments showed that the mathematical model had a high predictive ability for cutting depth. The optimal cutting depth was obtained by model prediction, and the error was 5.5% compared with the experimental results. Compared with the traditional dry laser cutting, the water conducting laser method reduced the thermal damage and improved the cutting quality. This study provides a reference for the precision machining of Inconel 718 with a water-jet-guided laser.

Experimental Study on Bond Behavior of Glass Textile Mesh in Earth-Based Matrix.

The bond behavior between the textile and the earth-based matrix determined the reinforcement effectiveness of the composite systems. This paper presented a pull-out experimental study on the glass textile mesh reinforced earth-based matrix. The bond behavior was studied using different development length, mesh spacing size and matrix thickness, with a total of 32 experimental specimens. The test results showed that the peak pull-out force had increased by 31.7% and 40.5% with 200 mm and 300 mm versus 100 mm development length, respectively. The 16 mm compared to 10 mm matrix thickness specimens had a high strength improvement (9.73%) because the elevated thickness had increased the matrix strength. However, the 20 mm versus 10 mm mesh spacing size specimens had achieved a slight reduction (5.72%) due to the reduction in the number of textiles along the weft direction. The failure mode shifted from pulling out, compound modes (both pulling out and textile rupture) to textile rupture mainly accompanied by elevated development length. In addition, we discussed the applicability of the trilinear bond-slip model on the earth-based matrix and proposed a method based on the fracture energy concept for estimating the effective development length, which could provide a reference for future research.

Properties of Ni-Al2O3 composite coating by laser-assisted pulse electrodeposition.

To study the influence of laser process parameters on the surface properties of the coating, N i-A l 2 O 3 composite coatings on 304 stainless-steel sheets with laser-assisted pulsed electrodeposition was proposed in this paper. Laser single pulse energy and scanning speed were selected as research factors. Single-factor experiments were performed to investigate the effect of various factors on the surface morphology, particle mass fraction, microhardness, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance of the composite coating. The experimental results show that the surface properties of the composite coating first increase and then decrease with increasing laser single pulse energy. When the laser single pulse energy is 11 µJ, the minimum surface roughness value is 0.380 µm with a smooth and uniform coating surface and the best surface morphology. Moreover, as the scanning speed increases, the corrosion resistance of the composite coating initially increases and then decreases. The corrosion resistance of the composite coatings is best with a scanning speed of 1000 mm/s. When the scanning speed was 1500 mm/s, the particle mass fraction in the coating reached a maximum of 1.984%; meanwhile, the highest hardness of the composite coating was obtained with the value of 476.38 HV.

Polishing Characteristics of Cemented Carbide Using Cubic Boron Nitride Magnetic Abrasive Powders.

This paper describes the application of bonded magnetic abrasive powders (MAPs) in the magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) process. In order to improve the poor finishing performance and short service life of MAPs in polishing super-hard materials, a double-stage atomization technique was used to successfully manufacture MAPs with a CBN as an abrasive phase. The prepared results show that CBN abrasives with their original structure were deeply and densely embedded on the surface of spherical MAPs. Based on the MAF process, a five-level and four-factor central composite design experiment was carried out to verify the developed MAPs polishing performance on the finishing of cemented carbide parts (864 Hv). Working gap, rotational speed, feed rate of a workpiece, and mesh number of MAP were considered as influence factors. The analysis data was used to understand different interactions of significant parameters. A regression model for predicting the change of surface roughness was obtained, and the optimal parameter combination was figured out through a solution of a quadratic equation in Design-Expert software. According to MAF results, the strong cutting ability of atomized CBN MAPs improved the surface roughness of cemented carbide by over 80% at the optimum parameters. The strong cutting ability of atomized CBN MAPs can produce good surface quality on the hard materials. The findings of this research can promote a large-scale application of MAF technology in the surface polishing of hard materials.

Experimental Research and Optimization of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Microgroove Machining Based on Waterjet-Guided High-Power Laser.

In order to improve the tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy and further broaden the application scope of titanium alloy materials in the industrial field, a preparation method of a waterjet-guided high-power laser processing surface microgroove was studied. In this paper, a multifocus coupling lens was innovatively designed to replace the spherical lens in the traditional waterjet-guided laser coupling device, which avoids the gas explosion phenomenon in the coupling of the high-power laser and waterjet, and realizes the high-quality coupling of the high-power laser and water beam fiber. Then, with the microgroove morphology as the response target, the single-factor test and response surface test of the water-guided laser processing microgroove were carried out. Based on the experimental results, an approximate mathematical model of the response surface between the process parameters and the microgroove topography target was constructed, and the quantitative relationship between the waterjet-guided laser processing parameters and the target response was studied. At the same time, the optimal combination of process parameters was obtained by multiobjective optimization, so as to effectively improve the microgroove morphology. This technology provides method guidance and a decision-making reference for subsequent waterjet-guided laser processing of titanium alloy surface functional microstructures.

Parametric Studies on Finishing of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy with Al2O3 Magnetic Abrasives Prepared by Combining Plasma Molten Metal Powder with Sprayed Abrasive Powder.

High-performance iron-based Al2O3 magnetic abrasive powder (MAP) prepared by combining plasma molten metal powder with sprayed abrasive powder is used for magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) of AZ31B magnesium alloy to remove surface defects such as creases, cracks, scratches, and pits generated during the manufacturing process of the workpiece, and to reduce surface roughness and improve its wear and corrosion resistance. In order to solve the problem of magnetic abrasive powder splash in the MAF process, the force analysis of the MAP in the processing area is conducted, and a composite magnetic pole processing device was designed and simulated to compare the effects of both devices on MAF, confirming the feasibility of composite magnetic pole grinding. Then, experiments have been designed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to investigate the effect of four factors-magnetic pole rotation speed, grinding gap, magnetic pole feed rate, magnetic abrasive filling quantity-on surface roughness and the interactions between them. The minimum surface roughness value that can be obtained is used as the index for parameter optimization, and the optimized parameters are used for experiments, and the results show that the established surface roughness model has good predictive ability.

Study on the Micro Removal Process of Inner Surface of Cobalt Chromium Alloy Cardiovascular Stent Tubes.

Due to the special manufacturing process of cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent tubes, there are serious surface defects in their inner walls, which affects the therapeutic effect after implantation. At the same time, the traditional processing technology cannot finish the inner wall of a cardiovascular stent tube. In light of the above problems, magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) equipment for the inner wall of an ultra-fine and ultra-long cardiovascular stent tube is proposed, and MAF technology is used to improve the surface quality of its inner wall. High-performance spherical magnetic abrasive powders are used to finish the inner wall of a cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent tube with an inner diameter of 1.6 mm and an outer diameter of 1.8 mm. The effects of finishing time, tube rotational speed, feed speed of the magnetic pole, MAPs filling quantity, and MAP abrasive size on the surface roughness and material removal thickness of cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent tube are investigated. The results show that the surface roughness of the inner wall of the cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent decreases from 0.485 µm to 0.101 µm, and the material removal thickness of the defect layer is 4.3 µm. MAF technology is used to solve the problem of the poor surface quality of the inner walls of ultra-fine and ultra-long cobalt-chromium alloy cardiovascular stent tubes.

Fabrication of Ultra-Fine and Ultra-Long Copper Tube Electrodes by Ultrasonic High-Frequency Percussion.

In this study, a new method of ultrasonic high-frequency percussion (UH-FP) is proposed. Ultra-fine and ultra-long copper tube electrodes cannot be fabricated by traditional processing methods, and the copper tube electrodes fabricated by UH-FP can be used in the process of rotary EDM for microfine holes. The UH-FP setup has been established based on an ultrasonic device, a workpiece chucking and rotation device, and a workpiece reciprocating motion device. In this work, by studying the principle of ultrasonic processing, the processing principle and mechanism of ultra-fine and ultra-long copper tube electrode preparation by ultrasonic high-frequency percussion is proposed. The effects of processing parameters (i.e., rotational speed, feed rate, working gap, percussion amplitude) on surface roughness are evaluated quantitatively. Experimental results show that the proposed method could complete the core leach of the core-containing copper tube electrodes after drawing, while improving surface quality. Some surface defects such as cracks, scratches and folds were completed removed, further improving the mechanical performance of processed parts. The surface roughness (Ra) of 0.091 µm was obtained from the initial 0.46 µm under the optimal processing parameters of 800 rpm tube rotational speed, 200 mm/min platform feed speed, 0.13 mm machining gap, 0.15 mm percussion amplitude, and 32 min machining time. The method shows potential for manufacturing copper tube electrodes for a wide range of industrial applications.

Prediction and Optimization of Surface Roughness for Laser-Assisted Machining SiC Ceramics Based on Improved Support Vector Regression.

In this paper, the surface roughness of SiC ceramics was investigated in laser-assisted machining (LAM) processes; machine learning was used to predict surface roughness and to optimize the process parameters, and therefore, to ultimately improve the surface quality of a workpiece and obtain excellent serviceability. First, single-factor turning experiments were carried out on SiC ceramics using LAM according to the material removal mechanism to investigate the variation trend of the effects of different laser powers, rotational speeds, feed rates, and cutting depths on surface roughness. Then, laser power, rotational speed, feed rate and cutting depth were selected as the four factors, and the surface roughness was used as the target value for the orthogonal experiments. The results of the single-factor experiments and the orthogonal experiments were combined to construct a prediction model based on the combination of the grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm and support vector regression (SVR). The coefficient of determination (R2) of the optimized prediction model reached 0.98676 with an average relative error of less than 2.624%. Finally, the GWO algorithm was used to optimize the global parameters of the prediction model again, and the optimal combination of process parameters was determined and verified by experiments. The actual minimum surface roughness (Ra) value was 0.418 µm, and the relative error was less than 1.91% as compared with the predicted value of the model. Therefore, the prediction model based on GWO-SVR can achieve accurate prediction of the surface roughness of SiC ceramics in LAM and can obtain the optimum surface roughness using parameter optimization.

Experimental Investigation on Process Parameters during Laser-Assisted Turning of SiC Ceramics Based on Orthogonal Method and Response Surface Methodology.

In this study, laser-assisted machining experiments are carried out on silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic materials by a turning process, and laser power, cutting depth, rotational speed, and feed speed are selected as research factors. In order to improve the surface processing quality of laser-assisted turning of SiC ceramics and obtain the smallest surface roughness, the orthogonal method and response surface method are used to investigate the effect of various factors on surface roughness. The effect of various factors on surface roughness is evaluated by variance analysis, mean analysis, main effect diagram, 3D response surface, and corresponding contour diagram. The surface roughness prediction model is established based on the response surface method, and the prediction error is 4.1% with high accuracy. The experimental results show that laser power and cutting depth are the most significant factors affecting surface roughness, and rotational speed is a significant factor affecting surface roughness. Under the optimum process conditions, the smallest surface roughness Ra obtained by the response surface method is 0.294 µm, which is lower than 0.315 µm obtained by the orthogonal method, and the surface quality is higher. Therefore, the optimal process parameters of the response surface method can obtain the smallest surface roughness and higher surface quality in laser-assisted turning of SiC ceramics.

Effect of static alignment deviation on coupling efficiency and beam quality of water beam fiber.

In this paper, the problems of decreasing coupling efficiency and energy distribution divergence of water beam fiber caused by static alignment deviation are studied. Based on the basic conditions of coupling between laser and water beam fiber, the mathematical model of coupling efficiency of water beam fiber is established, and the calculation equation of coupling efficiency is modified. The variation of coupling efficiency and energy distribution of water beam fiber under the influence of static alignment deviation is analyzed by numerical simulation, and the correctness of theoretical derivation and simulation model is verified by experiments. The results show that the lateral deviation changes the transmission path of laser in the water beam fiber to a large extent, and its influence on the energy distribution in the water beam fiber is greater than that of longitudinal deviation and angular deviation.

Development of High-Sensitivity Electrically Conductive Composite Elements by Press Molding of Polymer and Carbon Nanofibers.

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have various excellent properties, such as high tensile strength, electric conductivity and current density resistance, and thus have great application potential in electrical sensor development. In this research, electrically conductive composite elements using CNFs sandwiched by thermoplastic olefin (TPO) substrates were developed by press molding. The metal mold used for press molding was processed by a femtosecond laser to generate laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on the mold surface. The aggregate of CNFs was then flexibly fixed by the LIPSSs imprinted on the TPO substrate surface to produce a wavy conductive path of CNFs. The developed composite elements exhibited a sharp increase in electrical resistance as strain increased. A high gauge factor of over 47 was achieved, which demonstrates high sensitivity against strain when the composite element is used as a strain gauge. Scanning electron microscope observation revealed that the TPO filled the spaces in the aggregate of CNFs after press molding, and the conductive path was extended by the tensile strain. The strain-induced dynamic changes of contact states of CNFs and CNFs networks are discussed based on the electrical performance measurement and cross-sectional observation of the elements. This research provides a new approach to the production of flexible and high sensitivity strain sensors.

Process Parameters Optimization Using Taguchi-Based Grey Relational Analysis in Laser-Assisted Machining of Si3N4.

Despite extensive research over the past three decades proving that laser-assisted machining (LAM) is effective for machining ceramic materials, which are affected by many machining parameters, there has been no systematic study of the effects of process parameters on surface quality in LAM ceramic materials. In this paper, the effects and optimization of laser power, spindle speed, feed rate, and cutting depth on surface roughness and work hardening of LAM Si3N4 were systematically studied, using grey relational analysis coupled with the Taguchi method. The results show that the combination of machining parameters determines the material removal mode at the material removal location, and then affects the surface quality. In ductile material removal mode, both the value of surface roughness and work hardening degree are smaller. Decreased surface roughness and work hardening degree can be obtained with smaller cutting depth and higher laser power.

Axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann model for simulating the freezing process of a sessile water droplet with volume change.

Droplet freezing not only is of fundamental interest but also plays an important role in numerous natural and industrial processes. However, it is challenging to numerically simulate the droplet freezing process due to its involving a complex three-phase system with dynamic phase change and heat transfer. Here we propose an axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann (LB) model to simulate the freezing process of a sessile water droplet with consideration of droplet volume expansion. Combined with the multiphase flow LB model and the enthalpy thermal LB model, our proposed approach is applied to simulate the sessile water droplet freezing on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces at a fixed subcooled temperature. Through comparison with the experimental counterpart, the comparison results show that our axisymmetric LB model can satisfactorily describe such sessile droplet freezing processes. Moreover, we use both LB simulations and analytical models to study the effects of contact angle and volume expansion on the freezing time and the cone shape formed on the top of frozen droplets. The analytical models are obtained based on heat transfer and geometric analyses. Additionally, we show analytically and numerically that the freezing front-to-interface angle keeps nearly constant (smaller than 90°).

Experimental Investigation on Ultrasonic Atomization Assisted Turning of Titanium Alloy.

There are high cutting temperatures, large tool wear, and poor tool life in conventional machining, owing to the superior strength and low thermal conductivity of titanium alloy. In this work, ultrasonic atomization assisted turning (UAAT) of Ti6Al4V was performed with a mixed water-soluble oil-based cutting fluid, dispersed into tiny droplets by the high frequency vibration of a piezoelectric crystal. Different cutting speeds and two machining environments, dry and ultrasonic atomization assisted machining, were considered in the investigation of tool life, tool wear morphology, surface roughness, and chip morphology. In comparison with dry machining, UAAT shows lower tool wear and longer tool life due to the advantages of cooling and lubrication. Furthermore, better surface roughness, smoother chip edges, and shorter tool-chip contact length were obtained with UAAT.