The magnetorheological shear thickening polishing method, with its dual-stimulus response of shear thickening and magnetization enhancement, has emerged as a promising magnetic field-assisted polishing technology. However, in existing theories and experimental studies on polishing forces, the phenomenon of magnetization enhancement was mainly considered. The shear thickening effect has not yet to be incorporated into. Further more, there have been few systematic investigations on the polishing mechanism considering variations of force characteristics. The study aims to fill in these research gaps by developing theoretical models for both normal and tangential forces, and revealing the microscopic polishing mechanism during the magnetorheological shear thickening polishing process. Both normal and tangential polishing force models were established through taking the rheological properties of polishing media under magnetic field and plastic indentation theory into account. Polishing force measurement experiments under a multi-pole coupling magnetic field were conducted to reveal the variations of the polishing forces with different polishing parameters and to validate the established models. Furthermore, the microstructural evolutions of the polishing media components and the surface morphologies after polishing were combined with in-depth analysis to elucidate the polishing mechanism. The polished surface quality was significantly improved without visible scratches. The surface roughness of 48 nm was achieved from the initial value of 245 nm under the normal force of 3.36 N and the tangential force of 2.42 N. The study provides deep insights into the polishing forces characteristics and the polishing mechanism, which contributes to a theoretical guidance for optimizing polishing parameters and improving polishing quality.

Magnetorheological shear thickening polishing Polishing force Microstructural evolution mechanism Surface roughness