Feasibility Study on the Precision Polishing of Zirconia Ceramics with Magnetic Compound Fluid (MCF) Slurry Under the Assistance of Dielectrophoresis Effect

Abstract

In this work, a new polishing method for zirconia ceramics was firstly proposed, which combined dielec-trophoresis effect with magnetic compound fluid polishing. A key experimental device was designed and constructed, and the influence behavior of dielectrophoresis phenomenon on the polishing efficiency, surface roughness and glossiness of zirconia ceramic workpiece were investigated. Also, the effects of voltage, electrode shape and electric field parameters on the polishing results were deeply discussed. The results showed that when the magnetic field was stronger, the polishing efficiency would become higher, while the surface quality of the workpiece getting worse. And the glossiness was positively correlated with the surface roughness. Moreover, the smaller the electrode shape and the larger the electric field gradient caused the better dielectrophoresis-assisted effect. It was indicated that when the electrode shape was a circle with a diameter of 20 mm and the voltage was 1500 V, the material removal efficiency was improved by 36.4% while ensuring the surface quality of zirconia ceramics.