Analysis of Surface Topography under Varied Conditions of Energy Input Rate in Ultrasonic Machining of Pure Titanium

Ultrasonic machining is used for machining hard and brittle materials: semiconductors, glass, quartz, ceramics, silicon, germanium, ferrites etc. Titanium and its alloys are alternative for many engineering applications due to their superior properties such as chemical inertness, high tenacity, high specific strength, excellent corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance. In the present investigation, the effect of energy input rate on the surface topography has been evaluated, under controlled experimental conditions. It has been found that the mode of material removal may change from brittle fracture to ductile failure under extremely small energy input conditions. Moreover, a mixed mode with varied proportion of brittle fracture and plastic deformation could be obtained through systematic variation of the input parameters. In comparison to an electrical energy based method such as WEDM, the titanium components processed by USM does not exhibit any appreciable surface damage in the form of recast material, heat affected zone or residual stresses.