Prediction of the Surface Roughness in Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Grinding of Dental Zirconia Ceramics Based on a Single-Diamond Grit Model

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding (UVAG) is regarded as a superior method for the fabrication of ceramic dentures, due to its outstanding performance in hard and brittle materials’ machining. The surface roughness of dentures has a critical effect on the bonding and wear performance between dentures and natural teeth. Accomplishing the prediction of surface roughness will promote the application of UVAG in dental restoration significantly. However, the investigation about surface roughness modeling in the UVAG of ceramics is limited. In this study, a comprehensive surface roughness model was proposed with the consideration of the diamond grits’ random distribution, brittle fracture removal, and ultrasonic vibration characteristics. Based on the indentation fracture removal mechanism, the material removal process was modeled. Rayleigh’s probability density function was introduced to characterize the random distribution of the grits. Besides, the ultrasonic vibration was considered via the analysis of the single-diamond grit motion. Finally, the comprehensive model was developed with the consideration of all the diamond grits. Afterward, the verification experiments were carried out. The experimental results agreed well with the model predictions. Therefore, the comprehensive model can be applied to evaluate the surface roughness and can provide an in-depth understanding of the surface formation in the UVAG of ceramics.