Tubular Bezier Horn Optimum Design for Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Machining of Nomex Composite

Ultrasonic horn is utilized to enhance vibration amplitude transmitted by the transducer in an ultrasonic machining system. It plays a vital role in vibration amplification to a magnitude suitable for efficient machining of materials. Ultrasonic machining system has to operate at a frequency of at least 20kHz. Therefore, ultrasonic horn might be exposed to great magnitude of stresses causing early failure. Ultrasonic horn is usually developed to achieve high magnification factor and displacement amplitude with acceptable stress concentrations. In this research an ultrasonic horn was designed with Bezier profile having through hole of uniform diameter. Modal analysis was carried out to determine resonant frequencies in the axial direction, while stresses, displacement amplitude and safety factor were computed through harmonic analysis. The effect of varying hole length on modal frequency, vibration magnification, stresses, and factor of safety were also investigated. Axial modal frequency, vibration amplitude and Von Mises stresses were found to increase, whereas factor of safety was observed to decrease by increasing the hole length. Newly designed ultrasonic horns were able to provide larger magnification factor, high operating life and low stress concentrations in comparison to standard ultrasonic horns.