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Material removal thickness: a universal factor determining the evolution of surface roughness in electrochemical polishing

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Abstract

Electrochemical polishing (ECP) is widely used for scratch- and damage-free finishing of metal components. Though the polishing effect of ECP has been confirmed in many researches, the influence of polishing parameters on evolution of surface roughness is still ambiguous owing to the use of different ECP systems. In this paper, the universal factor determining the evolution of surface roughness during ECP is studied by theoretical analysis as well as experiments. Theoretical analysis based on viscous layer mechanism demonstrates that the material removal thickness is the key parameter governing the roughness evolution of the polished surface regardless of other parameters including the voltage and current and electrolyte concentration. A series of experiments were designed and carried out to verify the proposed hypothesis. Both the experimental results and already published researches proved the validity and universality of the newly developed hypothesis on surface roughness evolution. This work is of great significance for further understanding the finishing mechanism of ECP and process control for its practical applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the assistance of SUSTech Core Research Facilities.

Funding

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52035009, 52005243) and the research fund from the Science and Technology Innovation Committee of Shenzhen Municipality (JCYJ20200109141003910), Shenzhen, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, No. 1088, Xueyuan Road, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China

    Jianwei Ji

  2. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, No. 1088, Xueyuan Road, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China

    Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Zejin Zhan, Rong Yi & Hui Deng

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  1. Jianwei Ji
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  2. Muhammad Ajmal Khan
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  3. Zejin Zhan
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  5. Hui Deng
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Correspondence to Hui Deng.

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Ji, J., Khan, .A., Zhan, Z. et al. Material removal thickness: a universal factor determining the evolution of surface roughness in electrochemical polishing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 120, 5755–5762 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09129-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09129-9

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