Water-Jet Cavitation Shock Bulging as Novel Microforming Technique

Abstract With the continuous expansion of the application range of microelectromechanical systems, microdevice forming technology has achieved remarkable results. However, it is challenging to develop new microforming processes that are low cost, environmentally friendly, and highly flexible; the high-energy shock wave in a cavitation bubble’s collapse process is used as the loading force. Herein, a new process for the microbulging of the water-jet cavitation is proposed. A series of experiments involving the water-jet cavitation shock microbulging process for TA2 titanium foil is performed on an experimental system. The microforming feasibility of the water-jet cavitation is investigated by characterizing the shape of the formed part. Subsequently, the effects of the main parameters of the water-jet cavitation on the bulging profile, forming depth, surface roughness, and bulging thickness distribution of TA2 titanium foil are revealed. The results show that the plastic deformation increases nonlinearly with the incident pressure. When the incident pressure is 20 MPa, the maximum deformation exceeds 240 μm, and the thickness thinning ratio changes within 10%. The microbulging feasibility of water-jet cavitation is verified by this phenomenon.