Material Removal Behavior of Ultrasonic Vibration Helical Grinding of SiCf/SiC Composites

Abstract To reveal the material removal mechanism of silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix (SiCf/SiC) composites during the ultrasonic vibration helical grinding (UVHG) of hole-making process, a hole-making experiment of UVHG was conducted, and the contact behavior between a grain and different components in the SiCf/SiC was analyzed. The evaluation index of the hole wall quality Cw which comprehensively considers the overall level and local defects of surface quality was proposed, while the evaluation index of the hole exit quality Ce which comprehensively considers the area and depth of edge chipping was proposed too. The results show that the periodic changes of the fiber cutting angle θ will lead to different fracture mechanisms of the fibers and the interfaces, so the surface topography will change regularly. The brittle fracture of the matrixes under different process parameters is different, so the surface topography is different. The quality evaluation indexes Cw and Ce are highly reliable. Within the experimental parameters, selecting a smaller pitch, a smaller helical feed rate, and an appropriate ultrasonic amplitude can obtain better hole-making quality.