An Experimental Investigation on Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Grinding of SiO2f/SiO2 Composites

Fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite (FRCMC) have been widely used in aerospace and other high-technology fields due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties. However, FRCMC is a kind of typical material with anisotropic and inhomogeneous structure; thus, it is difficult to guarantee the precision and surface quality using traditional machining. The present paper employed ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding (UAG) to machine 2.5D woven SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites. By comparing the grinding force, surface microstructure, chip formation, surface topography and surface roughness with and without ultrasonic vibration for the machining of SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites, the feasibility of UAG on FRCMC was investigated experimentally. In addition, the effects of the process parameters (including spindle speed, feed rate, grinding depth, grain mesh size and ultrasonic power) on grinding force and surface roughness were studied through an orthogonal experiment. The research obtained can be a useful technical support for the development of UAG in the machining of FRCMC.