Three-dimensional dynamic contact analysis of abrasive filaments with a multi-body system

Abrasive brushes can be used for surface finishing and consist of a brush body with fixed high-flexible abrasive filaments. During the brushing process the abrasive filaments deflect axially and tangentially on the workpiece surface. Until now, the complex contact behavior has been insufficiently investigated. This paper presents a multi-body system of rigid links to describe the three-dimensional contact behavior of abrasive filaments. Corresponding differential-algebraic equations, developed with Lagrangian mechanics, are used to describe the motion of the system. A comparison of the calculated solutions with experimental results shows good correlations for different process parameters.