Effects of Combined Wear Mechanisms in Internal Surface Finishing Using Controlled Hydrodynamic Cavitation Abrasive Finishing Process

Abstract

Controlled hydrodynamic cavitation abrasive finishing (HCAF) process is presented as a new approach for surface finishing the internal surfaces of mechanical components. A recirculating hydrodynamic apparatus is designed and developed to generate controlled cavitation. Experiments are conducted on the internal channels fabricated using electric discharge machining (EDM). Firstly, the surface wear arising from the combined effects of controlled hydrodynamic cavitation and abrasive particles are investigated at (a) non-cavitating condition without abrasive particle, (b) cavitating condition without abrasive particles (c) abrasion condition without cavitation and (d) combined cavitation and abrasion condition. The effect of various operating conditions on the material removal are discussed. Lastly, the improvements in profile surface roughness (Ra) of the internal channels is characterized using optical profilometer. The results obtained (Ra < 1 µm) clearly shows that the combined effect of controlled cavitation and abrasive particles has a significant effect on the surface roughness reduction of internal surfaces.