Machinability of submillimeter holes in ceramic matrix composites by high-frequency ultrasonic vibration-assisted drilling

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are highly promising for the hot components of the high thrust-to-weight ratio aeroengines because of their excellent high-temperature resistance and lightweight. Submillimeter cooling holes are necessary cooling structures for the extremely high working temperature of a CMC hot component. However, CMCs are hard, brittle, and poorly conductive. Current machining is trapped in severe tool wear, poor hole quality, and low efficiency in machining such small size holes. This paper proposes high-frequency ultrasonic vibration-assisted drilling (UAD) to machine submillimeter holes of CMCs. It reveals that increasing vibration frequency during machining can enlarge the cutting edge's effective rake angle and reduce drilling forces. Correspondingly, the tool life and hole quality are improved. The machinability of high-frequency UAD is rationalized by both theoretical analysis and experiments. Results show that compared with low-frequency UAD and Conventional drilling (CD), the drilling force in high-frequency UAD is reduced by 47% and 81%, the tool life is more than three times, and the hole quality is improved by 12% and 35%, respectively. Therefore, the study paved the way for the machining of submillimeter cooling holes in CMCs, which is important to the industrial application of CMCs.