Simulation of Ultrasonic Tools for Cutting Honeycomb Panels Made of Aluminum and Aramid (Kevlar)

Honeycomb panels made of aluminum and composite materials—aramid, or Kevlar—are widely used in aviation, space, automotive, and other fields due to their unique characteristics: high strength and rigidity, low density, and good thermal insulation properties. However the mechanical processing of products made of honeycomb materials faces several difficulties, and one of the technologies that effectively solves the problems of cutting products made of honeycomb materials is ultrasonic cutting. In this paper, the finite element method is used to study the frequency properties necessary for designing tools for ultrasonic cutting of products made of honeycomb materials with operating frequencies around 20 kHz and various geometric parameters for cutting different variants of honeycomb constructions. The results of analyzing the wave dimensions of specialized ultrasonic triangular and disk-type instruments depending on geometry features are shown, along with the experimental results for a number of developed variants.