Application Cases

Experiment Name: Amplitude Testing Experiment

Research Direction: With the rapid advancement of technology, fields such as aerospace, defense, marine engineering, and transportation engineering impose higher performance requirements on mechanical components. These requirements include not only excellent surface finish to enhance assembly precision but also superior corrosion resistance, wear resistance, fatigue strength, and high surface hardness. However, mechanical components often fail prematurely due to localized surface fatigue, wear, and corrosion. Key load-bearing mechanical parts subjected to dynamic loads experience wear, corrosion, and fatigue, which reduce equipment lifespan and lead to significant economic losses annually. Therefore, researching efficient, cost-effective, and easy-to-operate technologies to enhance the surface corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and fatigue strength of mechanical components—ensuring stable, safe, and long-term operation of mechanical equipment—holds significant economic and social value.

Ultrasonic processing technology has gradually been applied in practice and is developing increasingly well. Integrating ultrasonic processing technology with surface strengthening techniques to develop ultrasonic surface strengthening technology has become a new area of research in surface enhancement. Ultrasonic surface strengthening technology effectively addresses issues such as wear, corrosion, and fatigue in mechanical components, achieving notable results in the surface treatment of low-stiffness parts and slender shafts. Ultrasonic rolling processing combines traditional rolling with high-frequency ultrasonic vibration. Macroscopically, the workpiece and rolling tool engage in continuous rolling, while microscopically, the process is intermittent. During rolling, the rolling tool and workpiece periodically separate and contact, significantly reducing friction and plastic deformation in the deformation zone. The rolling speed, feed rate, and depth of penetration undergo periodic changes due to this separation and contact, leading to reduced rolling force and temperature. This improves tool lifespan and enhances surface quality and precision, such as increasing component fatigue life, improving corrosion resistance, and enhancing wear resistance. In recent years, research on two-dimensional ultrasonic vibration processing has gained increasing attention, leading to the development of ultrasonic processing technologies with composite vibration modes.

Ultrasonic rolling processing technology holds broad prospects for surface strengthening applications in aerospace, defense, automotive, and power industries. This technology enables plastic processing of metal materials, including hard-to-process materials, with simple operation, minimal chips and coolant usage, recyclability, low energy consumption, and alignment with green and sustainable development requirements. Due to its low cost and ease of operation, rolling processing has gained favor in the manufacturing industry. However, traditional rolling processing has certain drawbacks, such as the formation of hardened layers on the workpiece surface, which may delaminate and cause surface spalling. Additionally, the rolling process is not yet fully refined, leading to potential defects during processing. With the advancement of ultrasonic processing technology, introducing high-frequency ultrasonic vibration into rolling processing effectively overcomes the limitations of traditional rolling techniques. By integrating ultrasonic elliptical vibration into traditional rolling, ultrasonic rolling processing of the outer cylindrical surfaces of aluminum alloy rods can be achieved.

Experiment Objective: To test the output amplitude of the ultrasonic vibrator, providing a basis for subsequent experiments.

Testing Equipment: Power amplifier, signal generator, data acquisition card, Doppler laser vibrometer, laser head, computer, ultrasonic vibrator, etc.

Experimental Procedure: In ultrasonic processing, different forms of processing require varying output amplitudes, which are critical parameters of the ultrasonic processing system. This study focuses on testing the output amplitude of the ultrasonic vibrator, utilizing a KEYSIGHT 33500B signal generator, an ATA-4052 power amplifier from Antai, and a Doppler laser vibrometer. The signal generator can output low-voltage signals with frequencies ranging from DC to 500 kHz. The generated signal is amplified by the power amplifier and then applied to the transducer. The power amplifier operates in a frequency range of DC to 500 kHz, with a maximum output voltage of 310 Vpp. The Doppler laser vibrometer uses a He-Ne laser with a wavelength of 632 nm, a measurement range of 0.2–5 m, and a frequency range of 0.5 Hz to 2.5 MHz. During the experiment, the signal generator produced a sine wave signal at a frequency of 19.312 kHz and a voltage of 14 Vpp, which was input into the power amplifier. After amplification by a factor of 20, a signal of 19.312 kHz and 280 Vpp (to avoid full-load operation) was applied to the ultrasonic vibrator. The laser head of the Doppler laser vibrometer emitted a laser beam onto the end face of the vibrator and collected the reflected signal. A data acquisition card collected data from the Doppler laser vibrometer and transmitted it to a computer monitor, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: Block Diagram of the Amplitude Testing Experiment

Experimental Results:

Figure 1-2: Lateral Amplitude of the Horn Output End

Figure 1-3: Longitudinal Amplitude of the Horn Output End

The measured lateral amplitude of the horn output end is shown in Figure 1-2, and the longitudinal amplitude is shown in Figure 1-3. The results indicate that the longitudinal amplitude of the output end is approximately 7.01 µm, and the lateral displacement is approximately 1.32 µm. Both the longitudinal and lateral amplitudes exhibit stable periodic variations with well-defined sinusoidal waveforms, indicating that the ultrasonic vibrator can achieve effective ultrasonic elliptical vibration. The generated ultrasonic vibration amplitude meets the requirements for ultrasonic rolling and is suitable for ultrasonic rolling applications.

However, there are significant differences between the experimentally measured longitudinal and lateral amplitudes and the finite element simulation results, which predicted a lateral amplitude of approximately 3 µm and a longitudinal amplitude of 11.7 µm. The discrepancies arise from several factors: the simulation assumes ideal and uniform materials, whereas experimental materials may contain defects; manufacturing errors in the ultrasonic vibrator differ from the idealized simulation model; and most importantly, the simulation assumes ideal and complete coupling at the end face, whereas actual coupling may have imperfections, leading to energy loss during ultrasonic transmission. Ultrasonic energy loss during transmission inevitably reduces the amplitude at the vibrator output end.

The experimental materials for this study were organized and provided by Xi'an Antai Electronics. For more experimental solutions, please continue to follow the Antai official website.