Experimental Study on Abrasive Flow Polishing of Grooves and Oil Holes of Aircraft Engine Main Bearing Ring

Abstract This study addresses the challenges in machining the raceways and oil holes of aircraft engine bearing rings by conducting abrasive flow machining experiments on main bearing rings which had undergone ultra-precision grinding. Viscoelastic abrasive media containing cubic boron nitride of different particle sizes is used during the experiments. The results show that bearing performance is improved significantly in terms of surface roughness, surface microtopography, residual compressive stress, and oil film thickness, consequently, the overall surface quality is raised. The machining process meets the precision requirements for the main bearings of this type of aircraft engine, validating the feasibility and effectiveness of Abrasive Flow Machining( AFM). And the foundation for further optimization of this process is set through this research.