Multi-Scale Study on Ultrasonic Cutting of Nomex Honeycomb Composites of Disc Cutters

To address the issues of burr formation, structural deformation, and tearing in the conventional machining of Nomex honeycomb composites, this study aims to clarify the mechanisms by which ultrasonic vibration-assisted cutting enhances machining quality. A multi-scale analysis framework is developed to examine the effects of ultrasonic vibration on fiber distribution, cell-level shear response, and the overall cutting mechanics. At the microscale, analyses show that ultrasonic vibration mitigates stress concentrations, thereby shortening fiber length. At the mesoscale, elastic buckling and plastic yielding models show that ultrasonic vibration lowers shear strength and modifies the deformation. A macro-scale comparison of cutting behavior with and without ultrasonic vibration was conducted. The results indicate that the intermittent contact effect induced by vibration significantly reduces cutting force. Specifically, at an amplitude of 40 μm, the cutting force decreased by approximately 29.7% compared to the condition without ultrasonic vibration, with an average prediction error below 8.6%. Compared to conventional machining, which causes the honeycomb angle to deform to approximately 130°, ultrasonic vibration preserves the original 120° geometry and reduces burr length by 36%. These results demonstrate that ultrasonic vibration effectively reduces damage through multi-scale interactions, offering theoretical guidance for high-precision machining of fiber-reinforced composites.