Ultrasonic assisted grinding of advanced materials for biomedical and aerospace applications—a review

This paper presents a review on ultrasonic-assisted grinding (UAG) of advanced materials, specifically investigating the effects of ultrasonication on material removal rates (MRR), grinding forces and energy, tool wears, wheel loading, residual stress and surface/subsurface damages. It compares the performance of UAG of ceramics and super alloys for biomedical and aerospace applications, with the performance of the conventional grinding (CG) techniques. The effects of the UAG process parameters on the MRR, grinding ratio, tool life, residual stresses and surface/subsurface damages were also investigated. Studies on the performance of the UAG process in the machining of brittle and ductile materials have shown that the introduction of the ultrasonic system to the grinding process helps to increase the material removal rates significantly, and consequently reduces the surface roughness, grinding forces and subsurface damages. The self-sharpening phenomenon found in the UAG process was realised to be responsible for the improved machining performance of the UAG process. Furthermore, the application of biodegradable lubricants (vegetable oil based) to the grinding process was also found to improve the machining performances of the UAG process, achieving almost the same performance as the non-biodegradable lubricants. As such, the use of the biodegradable lubricants in the grinding process was encouraged due to its economic benefits, and environmental friendliness.