A 2D CFD simulation of MR polishing medium in magnetic field-assisted finishing process using electromagnet

Magnetic field-assisted finishing (MFAF) is developed for superfinishing of hard materials for both internal/external geometries with a wide range of industrial applications. This process makes use of a flexible polishing tool comprising the magnetorheological polishing (MRP) medium under varying magnetic field of an electromagnet. The relative motion between the polishing medium and the workpiece surface provides the required finishing action. The finishing performance of MFAF process depends on the axial and radial stresses generated due to the flow of magnetically stiffened MRP medium. A 2D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of MRP medium inside workpiece fixture is performed to calculate the stresses developed during polishing. The microstructure of the mixture of magnetic and abrasive particles in MRP medium is proposed in order to calculate the forces acting on an active abrasive particle. Modeling of surface finish is performed after analyzing the surface roughness profile data obtained from the surface roughness measuring instrument. They are found to agree well with the experimental results.