Improving profile accuracy and surface quality of blisk by electrochemical machining with a micro inter-electrode gap

Electrochemical machining (ECM) has emerged as an important option for manufacturing the blisk. The inter-electrode gap (IEG) distribution is an essential parameter for the blisk precise shaping process in ECM, as it affects the process stability, profile accuracy and surface quality. Larger IEG leads to a poor localization effect and has an adverse influence on the machining accuracy and surface quality of blisk. To achieve micro-IEG (<50 μm) blisk finishing machining, this work puts forward a novel variable-parameters blisk ECM strategy based on the synchronous coupling mode of micro-vibration amplitude and small pulse duration. The modelling and simulation of the blisk micro-IEG machining have been carried out. Exploratory experiments of variable-parameters blisk ECM were carried out. The results illustrated that the IEG width reduced with the progress of variable parameter process. The IEG width of the blade’s concave part and convex part could be successfully controlled to within 30 μm and 21 μm, respectively. The profile deviation for the blade’s concave surface and convex surface are 49 μm and 35 μm, while the surface roughness reaches R_a = 0.149 μm and R_a = 0.196 μm, respectively. The profile accuracy of the blisk leading/trailing edges was limited to within 91 μm. Compared with the currently-established process, the profile accuracy of the blade’s concave and convex profiles was improved by 50.5 % and 53.3 %, respectively. The surface quality was improved by 53.2 % and 50.9 %, respectively. Additionally, the machined surface was covered with small corrosion pits and weak attacks of the grain boundary due to selective dissolution. Some electrolytic products were dispersed on the machined surface, and their components were mainly composed of the carbide and oxide products of Ti and Nb elements. The results indicate that the variable-parameters strategy is effective for achieving a tiny IEG in blisk ECM, which can be used in engineering practice.     

A plastic strain energy method exploration between machined surface integrity evolution and torsion fatigue behaviour of low alloy steel

To explore the evolution mechanism of multistage machining processes and torsional fatigue behaviour based on strain energy for the first time and provide process optimization of axis parts of low alloy steel for service performance, four multistage machining processes were applied to the 45CrNiMoVA steel, including the Rough Turning process (RT), RT+ the Finish Turning process (FRT), FRT+ the Grinding process (GFRT) and RT+ the Finish Turning process on dry cutting condition (FRT0). The result showed that the FRT process’s average low-cycle torsional fatigue life increased by 50% when it evolved from the RT process. The lower surface roughness of R_a 1.3 μm caused the total strain energy to increase by 163.8 Pa mm/mm instead of the unchanged strain energy density, and the crack feature evolved from some specific bulges to flat shear plane characteristics. When the GFRT process evolved from the FRT process, its average fatigue life increased by 1.45 times, compared with the RT process. Plastic strain amplitude decreased by 21%, and the strain energy density decreased by 4% due to more considerable compressive residual stress (?249 MPa). Plastic deformation layer depth had a consistent tendency with surface roughness. In this paper, surface integrity evolutions on cyclic characteristics and fatigue behaviour have also been explained. A fatigue life prediction model based on the energy method for machined surface integrity is proposed.     

Investigation on surface integrity of electron beam melted Ti-6Al-4 V by precision grinding and electropolishing

Electron beam melting (EBM), as an excellent Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, enables the printing of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy for a wide range of applications such as aerospace and biomechanical industries. It improves functionality and integrity of components and negates complexities in assembly processes. However, due to the poor surface and sub-surface integrity represented by the rough surface finish and low dimensional accuracy, achieving a favorable surface condition is quite challenging. Therefore, post processing becomes essential for these electron beam melted (EBM-ed) Ti-6Al-4 V alloys. Being the most common technique to improve such parts, milling of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy is very challenging and resulting tool wear issues, due to its unique material properties. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive study on the surface integrity of EBM-ed Ti-6Al-4 V parts processed by precision grinding and electropolishing, aiming to qualitatively and quantitatively clarify the interrelation between process parameters and processed surface quality. The surface and subsurface characteristics such as profile accuracy, surface roughness, microstructure, defective layer and residual stress before and after post processing were compared and evaluated. The results show that by precision grinding, the profile accuracy was improved from over 300 µm PV to 7 µm PV, while surface roughness (R_a) was reduced from 30 µm to about 2 µm. The layer with partially melt particles was removed, but introduced a deformed subsurface layer with more residual stress. Then by applying electropolishing, the residual stress was released and the deformed layer was removed. In addition, R_a was further reduced to 0.65 µm. The research can serve as a reference for the integration of post machining processes with AM.     

Direct thrust test and asymmetric performance of porous ionic liquid electrospray thruster

In order to meet the demand of CubeSats for low power and high-performance micro-propulsion system, a porous ionic liquid electrospray thruster prototype is developed in this study. 10 × 10 conical emitter arrays are fabricated on an area of 3.24 cm² by computer numerical control machining technology. The propellant is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. The overall dimension of the assembled prototype is 3 cm × 3 cm × 1 cm, with a total weight of about 15 g (with propellant). The performance of this prototype is tested under vacuum. The results show that it can work in the voltage range of ±2.0 kV to ±3.0 kV, and the maximum emission current and input power are about 355 μA and 1.12 W. Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectrometry results show that cationic monomers and dimers dominate the beam in positive mode, while a higher proportion of higher-order solvated ion clusters in negative mode. The maximum specific impulse is 2992 s in positive mode and 849 s in negative mode. The thrust is measured in two methods: one is calculated by TOF results and the other is directly measured by high-precision torsional thrust stand. The thrust (T) obtained by these two methods conforms to a certain scaling law with respect to the emission current (I_em) and the applied voltage (V_app), following the scale of T ∼ I_emV_app^0.5, and the thrust range is from 2.1 μN to 42.6 μN. Many thruster performance parameters are significantly different in positive and negative modes. We speculate that due to the higher solvation energy of the anion, more solvated ion clusters are formed rather than pure ions under the same electric field. It may help to improve thruster performance if porous materials with smaller pore sizes are used as reservoirs. Although there are still many problems, most of the performance parameters of ILET-3 are good, which can theoretically meet the requirements of CubeSats for micro-propulsion system.     

Milling surface roughness for 7050 aluminum alloy cavity influenced by nozzle position of nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication

In nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication (NMQL) milling of aviation aluminum alloy, it is the bottleneck problem to adjust the position parameters (target distance, incidence angle, and elevation angle) of the nozzle to improve the surface roughness of milling, which has large and uncontrollable errors. In this paper, the influence law of milling cutter speed, helical angle, and cavity shape on the flow field around the milling cutter was studied, and the optimal nozzle profile parameters were obtained. Using 7050 aluminum alloy as the workpiece material, the milling experiment of the NMQL cavity was conducted by utilizing cottonseed oil-based Al₂O₃ nanofluid. Results show that the high velocity of the surrounding air flow field and the strong gas barrier could be attributed to high rotating velocities of the milling cutter. The incidence angle of the nozzle was consistent with the helical angle of the milling cutter, the target distance was appropriate at 25–30 mm, and the elevation angle was suitable at 60°–65°. The range and variance analyses of the signal-to-noise ratio of milling force and roughness were performed, and the chip morphology was observed and analyzed. The results show that the optimal combination of nozzle position parameters was the target distance of 30 mm, the incidence angle of 35°, and the elevation angle of 60°. Among these parameters, target distance had the largest impact on cutting performance with a contribution rate of more than 55%, followed by incidence angle and elevation contribution rate. Analysis by orthogonal experiment revealed that the nozzle position parameters were appropriate, and R_a (0.087 μm) was reduced by 30.4% from the maximum value (0.125 μm). Moreover, R_sm (0.05 mm) was minimum, which was 36% lower than that of the seventh group (R_sm = 0.078 mm).     

Experimental and modeling study of surface topography generation considering tool-workpiece vibration in high-precision turning

High-precision turning(HPT) is a main processing method for manufacturing rotary high-precision components, especially for metallic parts. However, the generated vibration between tool tip and workpiece during turning may seriously deteriorate the surface integrity. Therefore,exploring the effect of vibration on turning surface morphology and quality of copper parts using3D surface topography regeneration model is crucial for predicting HPT performance. This developed model can update the machin...     

整体叶盘叶型电解加工流场设计及实验简

 电解加工（ECM）是航空发动机整体叶盘制造的主要技术之一,其电解液流场稳定性是影响电解加工精度和表面质量的核心因素。本文在分析原有的二维流场基础上,针对流体在不同流道截面下的流场状态,提出了一种三维复合电解液流场模式,即三股电解液分别从毛坯进气边、叶盆叶根、叶背叶根流入,由排气边交汇流出。采用有限元法对三维复合流场及两类二维流场开展仿真分析,分析结果表明三维复合流场改善了流道突变区域流场状态,有效抑制了二维流场的流场缺陷,有助于提高流场稳定性。对加工区液体流态进行了判断,其结果显示三维复合流场可以满足电解加工要求。开展了3种流场模式的加工速度比较实验,三维复合流场达到的进给速度最高,较二维流场可显著提升加工效率。采用三维复合流场开展了多叶片扇段加工,获得了较好的重复精度与表面质量。     

Cutting force model and damage formation mechanism in milling of 70wt% Si/Al composite

High-mass fraction silicon aluminium composite(Si/Al composite) has unique properties of high specific strength, low thermal expansion coefficient, excellent wear resistance and weldability. It has attracted many applications in terms of radar communication, aerospace and automobile industry. However, rapid tool wear resulted from high cutting force and hard abrasion, and damaged machined surfaces are the main problem in machining Si/Al composite. This work aims to reveal the mechanisms of milli...     

Improving performance of macro electrolyte jet machining of TC4 titanium alloy: Experimental and numerical studies

Electrolyte jet machining (EJM) is a promising method for shaping titanium alloys due to its lack of tool wear, thermal and residual stress, and cracks and burrs. Recently, macro-EJM has attracted increasing attention for its high efficiency in machining wide grooves or planes. However, macro-EJM generates large amounts of electrolytic products, thereby increasing the difficulty of rapid product removal with a standard tool and reducing the surface quality. Therefore, for enhanced product transport, a novel tool with a back inclined end face was proposed for macro-EJM of TC4 titanium alloy. For comparison, also proposed were ones with a standard flat end face, a front inclined end face, and both front and back inclined end faces. The flow field distributions of all proposed tools were simulated numerically, and experiments were also conducted to validate the simulation results. The results show that one with a 5° back inclined end face can decrease the low-velocity flow zone in the machining area and increase the high-velocity flow zone at the back end of tool, thereby promoting rapid product removal. A relatively smooth bright-white groove surface was obtained. The same tool also resulted in the highest machining depth and material removal rate among the tested ones. In addition, rapid product removal was beneficial to the subsequent processing. Because of its rapid product removal, the machining depth and material removal rate during deep groove machining using the tool with a 5° back inclined end face were respectively 7% and 14% higher than those produced using a standard one. Moreover, the lowest bottom height difference of 0.027 mm can be obtained when the step-over value was 8.2 mm, and a plane with a depth of 0.285 mm and a bottom height difference of 0.03 mm was fabricated using the tool with a 5° back inclined end face.     

Improving tensile-shear properties of friction stir lap welded dissimilar Al/Mg joints by eliminating hook defect and controlling interfacial reaction

To improve tensile-shear properties of fiction stir lap welded(FSLW) dissimilar Al/Mg joints, pin-tip profiles were innovatively designed and welding speed was optimized, and effects of them on formation, interface microstructure and mechanical properties of different FSLW joints were investigated. With increasing the welding speed, the tensile-shear load of FSLW joints produced by three pins presents an increasing firstly and then decreasing trend. Compared with Rpin, the hook and hole defect i...