Modeling the development of Almen strip curvature in vibratory finishing

The paper presents a model of the process by which Almen strips are plastically deformed by media impacts in vibratory finishing. The motivation behind this was to extend the use of Almen strip measurements as a means of characterizing the effect of media impact velocity on residual stress formation during vibratory finishing. Two impact velocity distributions measured in a vibratory finisher were used in the model to simulate the deformations of the surface of an Almen strip. Two thicknesses of Almen strips were considered. The quantitative agreement between the model saturation curves and the experimental curves describing the Almen strip deflection as a function of finishing time was fair, though the overall trends regarding deflection were predicted well.