Ultrasonic Vibration System Research Articles

Effect of ultrasonic assisted EDM based on horizontal vibration on deep and small hole machining.

With the development of science and technology, industrial production requires more and more precise parts processing, precision processing has become a trend. In this trend. The traditional processing methods have been difficult to meet the market demand for micro-hole parts. Therefore, combining the characteristics of EDM and Ultrasound-assisted Machining, a new horizontal Ultrasound-assisted EDM system for deep and small holes is designed and applied in physical machining. The experimental results show that the horizontal ultrasonic vibration of workpiece can promote the efficiency and depth of EDM, and improve the electrode wear and the inner surface roughness of small holes. By comparing the processing effects of different materials, it is found that the processing efficiency and depth of pig iron are better than those of stainless steel. In conclusion, the horizontal ultrasonic vibration system established in this paper not only improves the processing effect of conventional EDM to a certain extent, but also does not affect the spindle feed and working fluid circulation of EDM machine tools. It enriches the research direction of ultrasonic assisted EDM and has broad market prospects.

Study on the influence of force load on output amplitude in ultrasonic vibration system

Study on the influence of force load on output amplitude in ultrasonic vibration system

Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Local Resonant Ultra-Precision Grinding for Hard-Brittle Materials.

Hard-brittle materials are widely used in the optics, electronics, and aviation industries, but their high hardness and brittleness make it challenging for traditional processing methods to achieve high efficiency and superior surface quality. This study aims to investigate the application of ultrasonic local resonant grinding to sapphire to improve the efficiency and meet the requirements for the optical window in the surface roughness of the material. The resonant frequency of a piezoelectric ultrasonic vibration system and the vibration amplitude of a grinding head's working face were simulated and tested, respectively. The results of ultrasonic grinding experiments showed that the local resonant system reduced the surface roughness parameter (Ra) of sapphire to 14 nm and improved its surface flatness to 44.2 nm, thus meeting the requirements for the ultra-precision grinding of sapphire. Compared with a conventional resonant system, the surface roughness of the sapphire ground with the local resonant system was reduced by 90.79%, its surface flatness was improved by 81.58%, and the material removal rate was increased by 31.35%. These experimental results showed that ultrasonic local resonant grinding has better effects than those of conventional ultrasonic grinding in improving surface quality and increasing the material removal rate.

Research on a novel non-uniform and asymmetric ultrasonic vibration system

Abstract A new type of non-uniform and asymmetric ultrasonic vibration system is proposed and applied to the turning process. The research results show that the design theory of the non-uniform and non-symmetric ultrasonic vibration system is accurate and reliable.The theoretical design frequency and modal simulation frequency error of Ultrasonic Vibration Turning System (UVTS) is only 2.5%. The designed non-uniform and non-symmetric ultrasonic vibration system has excellent vibration performance and stability, and the established simulation model can predict surface microtexture accurately. The vibration mode output by the non-uniform and non-symmetric ultrasonic vibration system is longitudinal-bending vibration, and the actual vibration performance is excellent. Compared with conventional cutting, the addition of longitudinal-bending ultrasonic vibration under the same conditions can give the machined surface a microscopic textured structure, reduce surface roughness and water contact angle, and improve surface wettability.The minimum surface roughness obtained in the experiment is 1.005 μm.The orthogonal experiment results show that there is a correlation between the machining parameters, surface micro-structure parameters, surface wettability, and surface roughness.

Performance Degradation Modeling and Continuous Worktime Assessment of Ultrasonic Vibration Systems

In order to assess the stable operating duration of an ultrasonic vibration system, a reliability-based analysis method for the stability of the ultrasonic vibration system is proposed. Firstly, the failure mechanisms of the ultrasonic vibration system are analyzed, and the resonant frequency and amplitude are selected as two degradation features of the system. Subsequently, accelerated degradation experiments under different force loads were conducted, and the degradation model of the ultrasonic vibration system was established by comparing experimental data with degradation, distribution, and acceleration models. Finally, Copula functions were introduced to connect the two degradation features, resonant frequency, and amplitude, and lifetime curves were plotted under the influence of univariate and bivariate degradation factors. Through the analysis of the lifetime curves, the conclusion is drawn that the decay of amplitude is the primary indicator of system lifetime, and it is predicted that the developed ultrasonic vibration system can operate continuously and stably for 26.69 h. This research is of great significance for enhancing the reliability and lifespan management of ultrasonic vibration systems.

Design and research of the double-head ultrasonic consolidation vibration system

Design and research of the double-head ultrasonic consolidation vibration system

Intelligent optimization design of large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic vibration system

Large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic vibration systems are susceptible to the influence of coupled vibration, resulting in a series of problems such as increased energy loss, small longitudinal displacement amplitude of the radiation surface, and uneven distribution of longitudinal displacement amplitude, which can seriously affect the working efficiency of ultrasonic processing system. How to effectively control the coupled vibration of large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic transducer systems and optimize their performance has become an urgent problem in the field of power ultrasound. The research has found that some phononic crystal slots and point defect structures can suppress the lateral vibration of large-scale transducer systems, improve the uniformity of system amplitude distribution, and artificially regulate the performance of large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic vibration systems by changing the configuration parameters of phononic crystal structures. However, excessive design parameters will inevitably increase the complexity of system design, and, currently, the optimization design of large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic transducer systems relies on empirical trial and error methods which has low design efficiency and low success rate, and cannot guarantee the system performance. Therefore, in the study, homogeneous dislocations and point defect structures are introduced to optimize the design of large-scale three-dimensional ultrasonic vibration systems. Data analysis techniques are used to evaluate the influences of the configuration of homogeneous dislocations and point defect structures on the longitudinal displacement amplitude, amplitude distribution uniformity, radiated sound power, working bandwidth of the system’s radiation surface. And a predictive model for the performance of large-scale ultrasonic transducer system with homogeneous dislocation structure and near periodic defect structure is established, which can achieve intelligent design of large-scale power ultrasonic transducer system, improve design efficiency and success rate, and reduce the design cost.

Investigation of ultrasonic vibration assisted orthogonal turning under dry and minimum quantity lubrication conditions and performing sustainability analyses

Recently, increasing pressure on industries to innovate and adopt sustainable techniques has sparked investigations into machining strategies that have minimal carbon emissions, minimal energy consumption by machine tools, and low machining costs. The primary aim of this paper is to identify the machining conditions that can fulfill the criteria of clean production and sustainable chip forming for low-alloy steel which is extensively used in the many industrial field. To achieve this goal, experiments were done under both dry and Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) conditions, aided by ultrasonic vibration assisted hybrid machining conditions at various cutting speeds (100 and 140 m/min) and uncut chip thicknesses (0.1, 0.14, and 0.18 mm). The study was conducted in two stages. In the first part, machining experiments were performed afterward, cutting forces, cutting temperature, chip morphology, surface roughness, and texture were examined. The second part of this study evaluates the sustainability of various machining parameters and cutting environments. The analysis of economic feasibility or rather the total machining costs were estimated by evaluating the costs incurred due to investment of machine tools, lubricant/coolant delivery systems and ultrasonic vibration system costs, waste processing and management costs, cutting tool and labor costs, cost of cutting fluid and energy consumed. On the other hand, environmental viability was evaluated by estimating the carbon emissions (CE) due to the power consumed, material utilization (i.e., the cutting tool and cutting fluid), and the waste processing and management (i.e., disposal of cutting tool, cutting fluid and chip recycling). Results indicate that both dry and MQL ultrasonic-assisted machining processes resulted in improved chip breakability, and produced short-comma chips. Additionally, it reduced cutting force by 28% and the cutting temperature was lowered by 30 %. Besides, Minimum Quantity Lubrication + Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Machining (MQL + UVAM) hybrid method prevented surface defects and reduced average surface roughness by 24%–35% compared to dry conditions. While utilizing the MQL + UVAM method, the overall machining cost decreased in the range of about 20–30 % as compared to dry and dry + UVAM conditions. From an environmental standpoint, the MQL + UVAM hybrid machining process was found to be a significant contribution to the overall CE due to use of cutting fluids and increased machine tool utilization. This paper contributed to the understanding of sustainability and cleaner production to mitigate CO2 emissions by using the MQL + UVAM hybrid method.

Synergistic effect between cavitation erosion and corrosion of Monel K500 alloy in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution

Cavitation erosion-corrosion simultaneously damaged the material through mechanical attack and electrochemical corrosion. In this work, experiments were performed on Monel K500 alloy in deionized water and 3.5 wt% NaCl solution using an indirect ultrasonic vibration system to investigate the synergistic effect between cavitation erosion and corrosion. Mass loss measurement and surface topography observation were used to identify the different stages of cavitation erosion. The electrochemical properties at different cavitation stages were analyzed by EIS technique. Results showed that the synergistic effect between cavitation erosion and corrosion exacerbated cavitation damage, and the weight loss rate in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was about 10% higher than that in deionized water. The increase in ion diffusion and oxygen supply caused by violent agitation accelerated the surface corrosion process, resulting in corrosion-enhanced erosion. Mechanical damage to the material surface during the cavitation process also accelerated the corrosion process, indicating that cavitation-enhanced corrosion was the primary synergistic mechanism. Pure cavitation accounted for 90.75% of total mass loss, suggesting that mechanical deterioration dominated the overall cavitation erosion and corrosion process. Cavitation-enhanced corrosion accounting for 96.12% of the synergistic effect，was the main synergistic mechanism.

Effect of electric impedance on the electromechanical characteristics of tunable spherical piezoelectric transducer

Spherical piezoelectric transducers are a critical component of ultrasonic vibration systems with significant applications in various practical scenarios such as underwater acoustic detection and structural health monitoring. The existing spherical piezoelectric transducers have fixed electromechanical characteristics that limit their applications in scenarios with multi-frequency or frequency variation requirements. It would therefore be intriguing, from the viewpoints of both science and technology, to break through this limit by introducing external electric load impedance. Here we propose a tunable spherical piezoelectric transducer (TSPT) capable of adjusting the electromechanical characteristics by changing the resistance, inductance, and capacitance applied to the passive piezoceramic shell. The theoretical and numerical results show that when the resistance is exerted on the inner and outer piezoceramic shells, the resonance is accompanied by large variations at low values of resistance, while it becomes almost constant at high values of resistance. When the inductance is exerted on the outer piezoceramic shell, the resonance frequency obtained by the finite element method can be changed from 72730 Hz to 42928 Hz by adjusting the inductance, indicating that the TSPT can realize a rich and selective resonance frequency region. The resonance/antiresonance frequency decreases while the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient increases, when the capacitance applied on the inner and outer piezoceramic shells increases. The experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed TSPT, which is in agreement with the simulated results and theoretical predictions. Our methodology will offer possibilities to extend the working frequency range of the existing piezoelectric spherical transducer for underwater acoustic detection, hydrophones, and the spherical smart aggregate for civil structural health monitoring.

Systematic design and experimental realization of a radially cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer.

As a critical component of ultrasonic vibration systems, piezoelectric transducers play an essential role in various practical application scenarios. Recent advances in spherical transducers have been widely used in underwater sound and structural health monitoring, while the cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer with arbitrary piezoceramic shell thickness has not been investigated. Here, we propose a radially cascaded spherical piezoelectric transducer (RCSPT) and derive its electromechanical equivalent circuit with mechanical losses, dielectric losses, and load mechanical impedances. The resulting device is composed of three concentric spherical metal shells and two radially polarized spherical piezoceramic shells. The underlying physical mechanism is the inverse piezoelectric effect, which converts electrical signals into mechanical vibrations. The effects of the spherical piezoceramic shell's thickness and location on the RCSPT are studied. We also analyze the effects of mechanical losses, dielectric losses, and load mechanical impedances on the modulus of input electric impedance of the cascaded spherical transducer. The experiments are conducted to verify the electromechanical characteristics of the resulting device, which are in good agreement with the simulated results and theoretical predictions. Our methodology will offer new possibilities for designing RCSPTs and may promote applications in various fields, such as underwater acoustic detection and structural health monitoring.

Design of a Template-Based Electrophoretically Assisted Micro-Ultrasonic Machining Micro-Channel Machine Tool and Its Machining Experiment.

In order to achieve the high-precision and high-efficiency machining of micro-channels for hard and brittle materials, the authors innovatively proposed a new technology called template-based electrophoretically assisted micro-ultrasonic machining (TBEPAMUSM). This technology transfers the micro-channel shape punch-pin to the workpiece material through micro-ultrasonic machining to form a micro-channel. At the same time, it uses the electrophoretic properties of ultra-fine abrasive particles to ensure the existence of abrasive particles in the machining area by applying a DC electric field. According to the new technology machining principle, a machine tool of TBEPAMUSM was designed and developed. The machine tool hardware adopts a C-shaped structure, including a marble platform, an ultrasonic vibration system, a micro three-dimensional motion platform, a working fluid tank, and a pressure sensor. The machine tool intelligent control system is developed based on LabVIEW, including the initialization module, fast positioning module, constant force tool setting module, constant force control machining module, and real-time coordinate display module. Micro-channels with different structures are machined on single-crystal silicon and soda-lime glass using the designed machine tool and the developed control system. The results show that: when electrophoresis assistance is applied in machining, the edge chipping phenomenon of the micro-channel is significantly reduced, the surface roughness is reduced by about 20%, and the machining efficiency is increased by about 4%.

Analysis on electric impedance-controlled active ultrasonic horn in radial vibration

As a key component of high-powered ultrasonic vibration systems, ultrasonic horns play an important role in various practical application scenarios. Recent advances in longitudinal ultrasonic horns have enabled them to magnify the Langevin transducer's mechanical vibration and efficiently transmit the mechanical vibration to the mechanical load. However, limited research has been devoted to active radial ultrasonic horns in radial vibration. Here we propose an electric impedance-controlled active radial ultrasonic horn (ARUH) capable of tuning both resonance frequency and displacement magnification in radial vibration. The resulting device consists of a radially polarized piezoelectric ring connected with adjustable electric impedance and two metal rings with variable sections. The underlying mechanism is that the change of the converted mechanical impedance of the piezoelectric material by the external electric impedance connected to the piezoelectric material modulates the resonance frequency and displacement magnification of the ARUH. It can be found that the resonant frequency shifts to higher frequencies as the resistance increases and the resonant frequency shifts to lower frequencies as the inductance and capacitance increase, while the displacement magnification has the opposite trend to the resonance frequency. For example, the resonance frequency of the constant-section radial horn is 41130.2 Hz. When the inductance increases from −0.007 to 0.007H, the resonance frequency shifts from 41171.3 to 34606.2 Hz and the displacement magnification moves from 1.189 to 3.5. The experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the resulting device, which is in good agreement with the simulated results and theoretical predictions. Our design with functionality and flexibility opens up possibilities for the design of ARUHs and may find important application prospects in diverse fields such as cold-drawn steel tubes and ultrasonic plastic welding.

Developing a novel radial ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding device and evaluating its performance in machining PTMCs

Particle-reinforcing titanium matrix composites (PTMCs) exhibit the sharp raising applications in modern industries owing to its extraordinary physical and mechanical properties. However, the poor grindability and unstable grinding processes due to the existence of TiC particles and TiB short fibres inside PTMCs, leading to the sudden grinding burn and low material removal rate. In this work, a novel radial ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding (RUVAG) device with a special cross structure was developed to improve machining efficiency and avoid grinding burns. Meanwhile, the resonant modal and transient dynamic characteristics of radial ultrasonic vibration system were discussed. Comparative grinding performance experiments were then conducted under the conventional grinding (CG) and RUVAG using mono-layer cubic boron nitride abrasive wheels, in views of the grinding forces and force ratio, grinding temperature, and ground surface morphology. Results show that the ultrasonic vibration direction can be transformed effectively using the special cross structure of vibration converter, and better vibration homogeneity can be obtained. RUVAG has a smaller tangential grinding force by 5.0%–17.2% than that of CG, but a higher normal grinding force of 6.5%–14.9%, owing to the periodic impact of grinding wheels. In addition, RUVAG possesses a remarkable lower grinding temperature in range of 24.2%–51.8% and a higher material removal rate by 2.8 times compared with CG, resulting from the intermittent cutting behavior between the grinding wheel and workpiece. In this case, the sudden burn can be avoided during high-speed grinding processes. Moreover, the proportion of micro-fracture defects on machined surface is slightly increased once the ultrasonic vibration mode is employed because of the periodic impact on reinforced particles, whereas the pull-out defects of reinforced particles are reduced significantly.

Structural Design of a Special Machine Tool for Internal Cylindrical Ultrasonic-Assisted Electrochemical Grinding.

During the process of internal cylindrical ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical grinding (ICUAECG), both the workpiece and the conductive grinding wheel are rotating, the machining space is closed and narrow, the electrolyte is difficult to spray into the machining area, and the insulation between the workpiece and the machine bed is challenging. According to the machining characteristics of ICUAECG, the structure of a special machine tool was designed to mitigate these problems. In particular, the rotation, electrolyte supply, electric connection, and insulation modes of the workpiece clamping parts were studied, yielding a novel workpiece clamping- and rotating-device design. This structure can fully use the internal space of the hollow spindle of the machine tool, effectively reduce the external moving parts, and achieve the appropriate liquid injection angle of the electrolyte. The ultrasonic vibration system and its installation mechanism, the dressing device of the conductive grinding wheel, and the electric grinding spindle-mounting and -fixing device were analyzed in detail. Then, a special machine tool for ICUAECG was designed, the operability and feasibility of which were verified by experiments involving conductive grinding wheel dressing and ICUAECG.

Tensile fracture test of nanocomposite ceramics under ultrasonic vibration based on nonlocal theory

Based on non-local theory, the dispersion characteristics of ultrasonic vibration in Specimen tension are analyzed, and the effects of ultrasonic frequency and amplitude on the wave dispersion are obtained through theoretical analysis. Tensile tests were carried out using an ultrasonic vibration system and specimens, and the test process as well as test parts were observed and analyzed. The influence of the ultrasonic vibration on fracture properties and the change of grain micro-organization under different loading conditions were verified by experiments. The introduction of ultrasonic vibration changes the internal stress of the ceramic fracture, affects the hardness of the workpiece, and also leads to the scattering of particles, which leads to the aggravation of ultrasonic attenuation and phase velocity dispersion. SEM and XRD analyses showed that with the increase in ultrasonic frequency and amplitude，the trans -granular fracture was more obvious, the micro-cracks and dimples increased, and micro-pores increased in size and number. The tensile stress produced by ultrasonic vibration will induce the transformation from T-phase ZrO2 particles to M-phase ZrO2 particles and absorb strain, which greatly improves the plastic mechanical properties of nanocomposite ceramics. Due to the inherent phase transformation toughening mechanism, the material improves the plastic mechanical properties under the ultrasound excitation, and it is easier to achieve ductile domain processing.

Dynamic response of high-power ultrasonic system based on finite element modeling of piezoelectric

In this study, a new finite element model for ultrasonic welding equipment is proposed. This help to solve remaining issues such as element type selection for the numerical model, mesh size, and how to determine the parameters of piezoelectric materials. The obtained results clearly show the influence of element type and mesh size on resonance frequency and amplitude. Specifically, with a mesh size of 2 mm, it was concluded to be suitable for the model. For the C3D8 element (C3D8E), the computation time is reduced by 0.25 times compared to the C3D20R element (C3D20RE). After that, an experimental processing procedure is performed to evaluate the numerical simulation results. Specifically, the handling of signal noise when measuring a very small displacement at high frequencies of an ultrasonic vibrating device. Based on the confirmed finite element model, this model is extended to evaluate the influence of the load on the amplitude and resonant frequency of the ultrasonic welding system. The results show that when the load increases, the amplitude decreases while the resonant frequency increases. The results of this study can be applied to the design of ultrasonic vibration systems.

Large-scale piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers with tubular near-period phononic crystal point defect structure

<sec>The coupling vibration of large-scale piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer will make the average value of the longitudinal displacement amplitude of its radiation surface small and the amplitude distribution uneven, which seriously affects the performance and reliability of the system. In order to improve the performance of large-scale ultrasonic vibration system, a two-dimensional hole/slot near-periodic phononic crystal structure is used to suppress the transverse vibration, but the structure will in turn affect the mechanical strength of the transducer while achieving the suppression of the transverse vibration. The working bandwidth and other performance parameters have adverse effects. Based on this, a new idea of optimizing the large-scale sandwich longitudinal vibration piezoelectric ceramic transducer by using the tubular near-periodic phononic crystal point defect structure is proposed. This method can not only use the point defect mode of the constructed solid/gas two-dimensional near-periodic phononic crystal structure to obtain extremely low energy loss, but also effectively improve the longitudinal displacement amplitude and amplitude distribution uniformity of the radiation surface of the system. The double annular holes in the pipe string structure can also be used to enhance the multiple scattering of sound waves, so that the transducer can also produce a band gap under the low conditions of the pipe string, effectively suppressing the transverse vibration, at the same time, significantly broadening the working bandwidth of the transducer system, enhancing the stability and mechanical strength of the system, and reducing the processing cost. Simulation results and experimental processing test results also prove the effectiveness of the optimization.</sec><sec>In order to find the best parameters for the performance of the large-scale longitudinal vibration piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer, in the paper the finite element analysis software is used to study the influence of the inner radius <i>r</i><sub>1</sub> of the pipe string, the width <i>r</i> of the pipe string ring, the radius <i>R</i> of the outermost air cylinder hole, and the height <i>h</i><sub>2</sub> of the pipe string at the longitudinal resonance frequency of the transducer performance, the longitudinal displacement amplitude distribution uniformity of the radiation surface, and the average longitudinal displacement amplitude. In the research is finally found the range of parameters that can make the performance of the transducer reach a relatively ideal state. The simulation results show that the tubular near-periodic phononic crystal point defect structure can improve the performance of large-scale longitudinal vibration piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer.</sec>

Research Status of Ultrasonic Vibration System and Its Application Progress in Plastic Forming Field

Research Status of Ultrasonic Vibration System and Its Application Progress in Plastic Forming Field

Plastic deformation behavior of Ti45Nb in ultrasonic vibration-assisted compression

Ti45nb is a commonly used titanium alloy with high strength for aviation. However, it is mainly cold formed under conventional conditions and cracks often occur when deformation is large. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted compression test of Ti45Nb titanium alloy was carried out on a universal testing machine equipped with an ultrasonic vibration system. The influence of ultrasonic vibration on the deformation behavior of Ti45Nb was investigated. The results showed that ultrasonic vibration can significantly reduce the flow stress in the deformation process, and the reduction amplitude increases with the continuation of the compression process. The decrease in flow stress is caused by the stress superposition and acoustic softening effect. Compared to the conventional compression test, the grain in the center of the ultrasonic vibration-assisted compressed sample is finer, and the thickness of the lamellar substructure in the shear band is thinner. Therefore, ultrasonic vibration has a promoting effect on the deformation of Ti45Nb alloy.