Abrasive flow machining (AFM) is a finishing process that is used for deburring and polishing the complex surfaces and inaccessible areas of the workpiece. However, the surface roughness will not be uniform when a complex hole is polished by this method. By using CFD, we can design an optimum tooling to get the uniform roughness throughout the passageway. In this study, we have offered a new trend toward the optimum design of the tooling, for machining a hole with diameter variation along its axis. Dynamic viscosity of the medium plays the main role in controlling the roughness on the entire surface. The behavior of the flow during the process was firstly simulated in normal conditions to get the distribution of dynamic viscosity along the axis of the hole. Then it was simulated again, when various cores with different dimensions were placed in the hole. The results showed that the diameter and the length of the core both have significant effect on the flow and the optimal dimensions can be acquired using this method, to get the uniform roughness throughout the hole.
Based on this study, two papers are submitted to ISME2010 conference, which are accepted.