Modeling of surface roughness in the magnetorheological cylindrical finishing process

Abstract

The magnetorheological cylindrical finishing process is developed for fine finishing of the internal surface of cylindrical objects. The process uses smart fluid known as magnetorheological polishing fluid. This fluid consists of carbonyl iron (CI) and silicon carbide (SiC) abrasive particles mixed in the base fluid. The magnetorheological cylindrical finishing process consists of an internal finishing tool, which induces magnetic field over its outer surface due to which CI particles experience magnetic force and form chains between the magnetized tool outer surface and inner surface of the cylindrical workpiece. The CI particles push SiC abrasive particles towards the inner surface of the cylindrical workpiece and with the movement of finishing tool inside the cylindrical workpiece, finishing is performed in the process. In the present work, a mathematical model is developed for calculating the change in surface roughness values in the magnetorheological cylindrical finishing process after consideration of forces as acting on SiC particles. To validate the proposed mathematical model, the experimentation is performed by the magnetorheological cylindrical finishing process for finishing the internal surface of cylindrical hardened ferromagnetic steel workpiece. Results of both i.e. mathematical modeling and experimentation are found to be in close agreement with least percentage error of 1.28%. The developed mathematical model is helpful in predicting the process performance, which proves to be useful for industries dealing with internal finishing like injection molding, gas, and liquid pipes, etc.