A study of surface morphology evolution in fluid jet polishing

Abstract

Fluid jet polishing (FJP) has been extensively utilized in the ultra-precision manufacturing of optical components and molds. The polishing time is of great importance for the surface quality after polishing under different polishing parameters. When the polishing time is long, the nonuniform abrasive impact results in large erosion pits, increasing the surface roughness. On the other hand, short-time polishing is insufficient for improving surface quality due to less material removal. As a result, it is essential to determine the polishing time by investigating the surface morphology evolution process in FJP. This paper focuses on a study of the effect of different parameters on the surface morphology evolution process and hence identifies the presence and cause of the large erosion pits in FJP. The impact position distribution of abrasives and material removal amount by a single abrasive were considered in the model. The result of the study can be utilized to optimize the polishing time in FJP under different polishing conditions.