Study on Material Removal Mechanism of Non-Resonant Vibration-Assisted Scratching High-Volume Fraction SiCp/Al

Aluminum-based silicon carbide (SiCp/Al) is a hard-to-process material. SiC particles are randomly distributed and have a unique structure, thus posing challenges during processing. These distinctions considerably affect the overall quality of machining. As the volume fraction increases, the machinability continues to decline. Understanding the removal mechanism of SiCp/Al composites is essential for improving their machined surface quality. This study explores the influence of vibration frequency on the removal mechanism and plastic deformation in high-volume fraction SiCp/Al composites using non-resonant vibration-assisted scratching (NVAS) experiments combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The experimental results show that compared with conventional scraping (CS), increasing the vibration frequency in the NVAS process significantly expands the plastic removal area and reduces the scraping force. The simulation results indicate that as vibration frequency rises, the smoothness of the scratched groove improves, leading to a more uniform distribution of dislocations and a significant reduction in dislocation loops and HCP structures, promoting plastic deformation of the material. The simulation explains and clarifies the occurrence of plastic deformation observed during the scratching experiments. This study can provide a potential understanding of non-resonant vibration-assisted high-volume SiCp/Al composites machining.