Author(s)

Shreyansh P. Patel

Advisor(s)

Sinan Müftü

Date of Award

12-2011

Date Accepted

12-2011

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department or Academic Unit

College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Keywords

Erosion, Fluid Jet Polishing, Metal Erosion, Metal Polishing, Polishing, Slurry Jet

Disciplines

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Polishing and erosion of aluminum surface using fluid jet carrying abrasive alumina particles was investigated. Setup was built and combined to a lathe allowing flexibility to vary jet orientation and control the jet impact location on the metal surface. The effects of pressure (90-75-50 psi), jet orientation (90°-60°-30°-15°) and polishing time (10-15-20 minutes) on the final surface obtained were studied. Experiments were carried out on a fixed spot on the aluminum substrate, keeping nozzle and substrate stationary. Stylus profilometry was used to examine the final surface along different directions. The surface morphology was investigated through measurements of depths and slopes of the contour obtained. Conclusive trends were obtained for variations in the parameters. It was seen that the final wear contour strongly depends on the jet orientation. The most polished part of the contour was in the region of jet impact as compared to the surface surrounding the vicinity of the impact. The average roughness (Ra) of the surface changed from 430 nm to 139 nm when all the tests are considered. Most polished surface was obtained with the jet orientation of 30° with Ra value of 68 nm. The largest polished surface area was obtained with the 15° jets. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to study the jet-to-surface interactions. This showed that the fluid dynamic pressure is the main parameter affecting the material removal off the surface. It was concluded that the region of material erosion with respect to the fluid stagnation, changed with the slurry jet orientation. The results are applicable to erosion as well as polishing of metal surfaces.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Shreyansh P. Patel


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