Improvement effects of vibration on cutting force in rotary ultrasonic machining of BK7 glass

Rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) exhibits a high potential for a significant reduction in the cutting force, which directly associates with tool wear, machining accuracy, machining temperature, and surface integrity. However, the improvement mechanisms of the ultrasonic vibration on the cutting force are still not fully recognized, restricting the currently optimization methods for further reducing the cutting force occurred during the RUM process. In this research, by incorporating the kinematics principles of the abrasive, the evolution features of the material strain rate in the loading phase were first discussed with respect to the indentation mechanics theory. Taking these features into account, the RUM scratching tests were carried out on the polished specimen surfaces under various process parameters to capture the integrated damage patterns evoked in the high strain rate stage. Following, the comparative indentation tests were respectively conducted on the RUM scratches and the gentle polished surfaces. The indentation-induced damage structures and the load–displacement curves were characterized and assessed to investigate the improvement mechanisms of the superimposed ultrasonic on the cutting force in formal RUM process. It was found that superimposing an ultrasonic vibration led to the incipient cracks nucleated in the abrasive loading phase, and their propagations would increase the material removal rate (MMR) obtained in formal RUM process. Furthermore, the incipient cracks provided a shielding effect to the indentation force, which was a dominant factor in diminishing the cutting force of the diamond tool. The nucleation of the incipient cracks resulted in more energy dissipation after the abrasives penetrating into the hard substrate of the material, which would lead to a higher residual stress on final RUM surface. In addition, a failure pattern (plastic deformation or brittle fracture) evolution model involved in abrasive loading phase was developed with respect to the strain rate effects of the material.