Numerical Simulation and Experimental Study on Polishing Fluid Dynamics and Material Removal in Metal Ultrasonic Vibration Polishing

To address the bottleneck issues of traditional ultrasonic polishing-such as unclear material removal mechanisms for ductile metals and difficulties in controlling machining outcomes-this paper employs a combined approach of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and non-contact fixed-point polishing experiments to systematically reveal the intrinsic relationship between the dynamic characteristics of the polishing flow field and the evolution of the material surface. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the cavitation effect significantly regulates the flow field structure: it not only confines the minimum pressure near the saturated vapor pressure but also markedly reduces the pressure peak while concurrently causing an overall decrease in flow velocity, forming a strongly coupled multi-parameter system of pressure, cavitation, and flow velocity. Experimental results indicate a clear spatial differentiation in the material removal mechanism: the central region is dominated by cavitation erosion, resulting in numerous pits and a 33.6% increase in residual compressive stress; the edge region is primarily governed by fluid-mechanical scraping, effectively improving surface finish and increasing residual stress by 22.3%; the transition zone, influenced by synergistic mechanisms, shows the smallest stress increase (19.7%). The enhancement of residual compressive stress can significantly improve the fatigue resistance of materials and prolong their fatigue life. This study comprehensively elucidates the multi-mechanism synergistic material removal process involving "cavitation impact, mechanical scraping, and fatigue spallation" in ultrasonic polishing, providing a key theoretical basis and process optimization direction for sub-micrometer ultra-precision machining.