Specific energy and temperature determination in abrasive flow machining process

A model has been proposed for the determination of specific energy and tang ential forces in abrasive flow machining (AFM) process. It accounts for the process parameters of AFM e.g., grain size, applied pressure, hardness of workpiece material, number of cycles and number of active grains. Heat tran sfer in AFM has also been analysed considering heat flow to the workpiece a nd medium, and theoretical results compared with experimentally observed va lues of workpiece temperatures. The dependence of the workpiece temperature on the AFM parameters has been discussed. The model also predicts the frac tion of heat entering into the workpiece and medium. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.