Abrasive jet micromachining is considered as a promising precision processing technology for brittle materials such as silicon substrates and glasses that are increasingly used in various applications. In this paper, the mechanisms of microhole formation on brittle glasses by an abrasive slurry jet are studied based on the viscous flow and erosion theories. It is shown that the hole cross section is characterized by a “W” shape and can be classified into three zones caused, respectively, by jet direct impact, viscous flow, and turbulent flow induced erosion. An analysis of the surface morphology shows that ductile-mode erosion is dominant. The effect of process parameters on material removal is studied which shows that increasing the pressure and erosion time increases the hole depth, but has little effect on the hole diameter.
This paper presents a study of using an abrasive slurry jet for the machining of micro channels on brittle glasses. The machined surface morphology and channel dimensions are used to assess the technology. Surface morphology was found featuring with two types of wave patterns; one was along the channels with large wave lengths as a result of the jet deflection during the motion of nozzle, and the other was due to viscous flow that resulted in smooth surface eroded predominantly by ductile mode. The investigation showed that using higher jet pressure and higher particle concentration enables to create channels with higher depth, although these widened the channels and degraded the surface quality in some cases by inducing a larger number of pit fragments on the surface. With proper control of the operating parameters, this technology can be used for machining micro channels on brittle materials with high quality of surface finish.
The erosion process in micro-machining of brittle glasses using a low pressure slurry jet
is discussed. The process capability of the technique is assessed by examining the machined surface
integrity in relation to fluid flow dynamics in micro-hole generations. The holes produced are
characterised by a “W” shape in the cross section, while the surface morphology is distinguished by
three zones associated with the fluid flow behaviour, i.e. a direct impact zone, a wavy zone and an
accumulation zone. The surfaces appear to be smooth and without cracks, indicating a
predominance of the ductile mode erosion process. With the increase of pressure, the erosion rates
can be enhanced as a result of the expending of the accumulation zone while the outer diameter of
the holes remains unchanged. This study shows that this technique can be used for micro-machining
with high surface quality, and provides an essential understanding for further research in the
avenue.
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