Calculation and test verification of residual stress in ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding of aerospace gears based on crystal plasticity finite element model
ZOU Runxiang
TANG Jinyuan
ZHOU Weihua
YE Shijie
LI Fangcheng
YANG Yudian
Abstract：[Objective]Aerospace gears have strict requirements for surface integrity.Ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding(UVAG)can enhance the residual compressive stress and fatigue resistance of gear surfaces,but the thermal-mechanical-microplastic coupling mechanism remains to be further clarified.Therefore,a crystal plasticity finite element model(CPFEM)considering both ultrasonic vibration and thermal-mechanical coupling was established to predict the residual stress on the gear surface and reveal the ultrasonic control mechanism.[Methods]A gear surface following coordinate system and grinding contact geometry were constructed,and models for friction attenuation,tangential grinding force,and transient heat flow under UVAG conditions were derived.The ultrasonic softening term and temperature softening term were introduced into the CPFEM,and the material parameters of 12Cr2Ni4A alloy steel were calibrated to establish a surface/depth dual-scale polycrystalline model.Simulations under different grinding parameters and conditions were conducted in the Abaqus-UMAT framework.An UVAG test platform was built,and the grinding temperature rise was verified by embedded thermocouples.The residual stress on the gear surface and at different depths was measured by the X-ray diffraction(XRD)layer-by-layer peeling method to validate the model.[Results]Under the reference condition,the model predicts a peak residual compressive stress of approximately-369 MPa on the gear surface and about-50 MPa at 100 μm,with a deviation from the XRD measurement of no more than 20%.Under different conditions,the average verification error of the surface is approximately 21%,and the trend of the simulated values is consistent with the test values.Compared with conventional grinding,the peak residual compressive stress under UVAG conditions increases by 20%-30%,and the effective depth of action increases by about 50%.The results show that UVAG can reduce the average Taylor factor and increase the slip activity by suppressing frictional heating and promoting multi-slip coordination and dislocation proliferation,thereby reconstructing the cross-scale stress field.The established model can be used for residual stress prediction and process parameter optimization of UVAG in aerospace gears.
Keywords：Aerospace gearCrystal plasticity finite element modelUltrasonic vibration-assisted grindingThermal-mechanical couplingResidual stress
Publication Date：2026-08-15
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：14( 80-93 )