Multiphysics simulation and experimental study on inductively coupled plasma jet pretreatment for SiCp/Al composites

• A novel inductively coupled plasma pretreatment method for SiCp/Al composites is proposed. • A multi-physics model for low-power inductively coupled plasma jets is developed and validated. • The influence mechanism of process parameters on etching behavior was clarified. • Inductively coupled plasma pretreatment can improve the surface quality in turning and reduce cutting forces. High-volume fraction SiCp/Al composites are widely used in the aerospace industry due to their excellent properties, but their poor machinability limits the realization of high-precision machining. To overcome this challenge, this study introduces an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) pretreatment technique, which effectively addresses the difficulty of high-precision machining of SiCp/Al composites. A multi-physics field coupling model of low-power ICP jet was established, and a single-factor method was applied to uncover the relationship between process parameters and jet characteristics. The study shows that increasing the radio frequency power, shortening the processing distance, and reducing the nozzle size can significantly improve material removal efficiency and minimize thermal effects. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results show that the optimized ICP process effectively and selectively removes the surface SiC reinforcement phase, reducing the silicon content from 45.60 % to 8.20 %. After ICP pretreatment, the turning surface quality was significantly improved, with surface roughness (Sq) reduced by approximately 36.05 % and cutting force decreased by 40.35 %, confirming the significant advantages of ICP technology in improving material machining performance. This study offers theoretical support and guidance for process optimization in the precision machining of SiCp/Al composites.