Ultrasonic-assisted friction drilling process of aerospace aluminum alloy (AA7075): FEA and experimental study

Abstract

Joining sheets and plates in the industry is of high importance. In the automotive and aerospace industry, using friction drilling technique is developing. In order to improve this method, different techniques have been used. In this research, applying ultrasonic vibration on the tool will be investigated. In this regard, a special tool was designed. Axial force and surface hardness were measured in friction drilling and ultrasonic assisted friction drilling. Higher rotational speed and lower feed rate induce lower axial force and higher surface hardness. In addition, ultrasonic vibration causes the surface to be harder with lower axial force. The results show that increasing the rotational speed and decreasing the feed rate in lathe machine causes axial force reduction and surface hardness increase in heat affect zone and thermomechanical region. Moreover, finite element method was carried out which indicated lower axial force occurs in ultrasonic assisted friction drilling comparing to conventional condition. Equivalent plastic strain was used to examine hardness value numerically. The obtained numerical and experiment results were in good agreement.