Towards an Understanding of Multiphase Fluid Dynamics of a Microfluid Jet Polishing Process: A Numerical Analysis

Abstract

The microfluid jet polishing (MFJP) process is a manufacturing technology in which small abrasive particles (such as diamond, alumina, and ceria) are premixed with a carrier fluid (typically water) to form a liquid suspension that is pressurized and expelled through a nozzle for material removal. The resulting microjet beam—with a typical nozzle exit diameter in the range from 0.1 to 1.0 mm—impinges the workpiece surface for material removal by erosion and/or abrasion and produces an ultraprecision surface. This work applies a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to analyze the key phenomena in the interaction of the liquid suspension and the workpiece surface. The liquid film characteristics (film height, minimum film height, positions of the minimum film height, and hydraulic jump) obtained from the CFD simulations are compared with the results derived from empirical formulations found in the literature. Subsequently, the numerical results are utilized to investigate the impact velocity, pressure distribution, and shear stress caused by the suspension on the workpiece surface. It is observed that the shear stress strongly depends on the injection pressure of the liquid suspension and is weakly dependent on the abrasive suspension concentration (the liquid suspension with different densities, viscosities, and surface tensions). Additionally, the particle behavior is investigated in order to estimate the impact velocity and to identify the impact and erosion zones of the liquid suspension on the workpiece surface. Numerical results indicate that ~50% of total particles are impinging the workpiece surface almost perpendicularly (with a mean impact angle of ~86 degrees) for the first time in the stagnation region, where they are strongly decelerated by the carrier fluid before they reach the workpiece surface. These particles, however, rebound on the surface and are reaccelerated by the carrier fluid, impinging the workpiece surface further in the radial direction.

Keywords

• microfluid jet polishing
• jet fluid dynamics
• computational fluid dynamics
• hydraulic jump
• particle hydrodynamics