EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON POLISHING OF CURVED SURFACES BY NON-NEWTONIAN LIQUID MACHINING METHOD

Abstract

Non-Newtonian liquid machining method is a simple method for processing complex curved surfaces. Previously, the curved surfaces are polishing by complex machining process to achieve the required surface roughness. To simplify the polishing process, the abrasives will be mixed with the binder to form a fluid of polishing slurry, in which the abrasives were dispersed. When the polishing slurry is moved, it will produce a shear thickening stress on the polished curved surface. In this study, the influence of polishing speed, abrasive concentration and abrasive size on the surface roughness and material removal rate were investigated by experiments. The experimental results revealed that the polishing speed has the greatest influence on the polishing effect. With the increase of the polishing speed, the material removal rate increases rapidly and smoother surfaces with better roughness can be obtained. Abrasive concentration affects the polishing results in a manner that is similar to polishing speed. Abrasive size seems to have no effect on the surface roughness, but material removal rate increases as the abrasive size decreases. Finally, surface roughness of curved surfaces work-piece (Ø32 mm) was reduced rapidly from Ra = 110 nm to Ra = 13 nm.