ULTRASONIC CUTTING OF SWITCHGRASS AND MISCANTHUS STEMS

Ultrasound-assisted cutting has been used to cut materials with high precision, improved quality and reduced cutting forces. The research objective was to investigate the effects of high-frequency vibrations on the cutting force and cutting energy of switchgrass and miscanthus stems. Laboratory experiments were conducted on individual biomass stems at cutting speeds between 3 and 400 mm/s. An experimental cutting system with an ultrasound generator, an ultrasonic blade, a load cell, and a data acquisition system was developed. The custom designed blade was 5-cm wide and vibrated at 19.551 kHz with 2.8 mu m tip vibration amplitude. There were significant measured differences in the cutting forces and cutting energies between conventional cutting and ultrasonic cutting of switchgrass and miscanthus stems (p < 0.05). These results suggest that the use of high-frequency vibrations reduce cutting force and cutting energy of both switchgrass and miscanthus stems. Ultrasound-assisted cutting reduced the cutting energy of switchgrass by 66.85% at 100 mm/s and miscanthus by 80.58% at 30 mm/s. However, ultrasonic cutting did not have a significant effect on the cutting force and cutting energy when the cutting speed was equal to or greater than the blade tip vibration speed. The results of this research should be useful for adapting the ultrasonic technology in biomass harvesting, particle size reduction, and processing equipment.