A mechanistic approach to predict the material removal rate in Ice Bonded Abrasive Polishing (IBAP)

Abstract The growing demand for ultrafine surface generation has forced the researchers to look for new methods of polishing that can guarantee both qualities as well as productivity. The existing polishing methods have several limitations such as bluntness of tool due to loading, metallurgical changes on the polished surface due to frictional heat generated at the interface, etc. These limitations have prompted the researchers to develop self-sharpening polishing tools. One such method is Ice Bonded Abrasive Polishing (IBAP) which uses frozen slurry for polishing, where ice serves as a matrix to hold the abrasives. Frictional heat produced at tool work interface causes the tool to melt and thus exposes fresh abrasives present in different layers. This paper attempts to interpret the mechanisms responsible for the ultrafine surface generation and then to develop an analytical model for estimating material removal. During polishing, the asperities on work surface experience variable force due to the changing condition of the tool with time. Initially, the first layer of rigid ice with fixed abrasives interacts with the work surface, making it as a solid-solid interaction. Molten state of ice behaves as semisolid and leads to slurry formation afterward. Therefore, the work surface will experience two-body and three-body interactions simultaneously. The proposed model implements the concepts of contact mechanics for predicting material removal from the work surface and finally, the effectiveness of the model has been validated with experimental results.