Shear-thickening polishing method

• A shear-thickening polishing (STP) method utilizing the shear thickening mechanism of non-Newtonian power-law fluid based slurry is proposed for curved surface polishing.
• The material removal rate (MRR) model is established according to the Preston equation and fluid dynamics theory.
• STP is a promising processing method for precision finishing or polishing.

A shear-thickening polishing (STP) method utilizing the shear thickening mechanism of non-Newtonian power-law fluid based slurry is proposed for curved surface polishing. The STP principle and micro-material removal action are analyzed. The high-performance STP slurry with the shear-thickening rheological behaviors has been prepared. To achieve the material removal mechanism of STP process, based on the Preston formula, fluid dynamics and shear thickening mechanism, the material removal rate (MRR) model is established and the difference of MRR between theoretical and experimental results is 6.12%. The experimental and theoretical tests of STP process are conducted to investigate the influences of polishing velocity, abrasive concentration and grain size on MRR and surface roughness. Compared with Newtonian fluid slurry, STP slurry can achieve much higher MRR and better surface quality due to shear-thickening effect. MRR of Cr12Mo1V1 (die steel) is up to 13.69 μm/h, and surface roughness is reduced from Ra 105.95 nm to Ra 5.1 nm within 0.5 h of processing. This indicates that STP is a promising processing method for precision finishing or polishing.