Effects of cooling air temperature on cryogenic machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

This paper presents experimental investigations on influence of different coolant strategies such as dry, wet, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and MQL with cooling air on performance in milling of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy with uncoated cemented carbide inserts. Cutting force, tool wear, surface roughness and chip morphology are experimentally studied to compare the effects of different cooling air temperatures. The results showed that minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) with cooling air significantly reduces cutting force, tool wear and surface roughness. Unfortunately, MQL (without cooling air) condition cannot produce evident effect on cutting performance, and flaking wear on the flank surface of the insert has been found under this condition. Four different cooling air temperatures are used to investigate the effects of cooling air temperature on the machinability characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Based on the experimental results, MQL with cooling air of −15 °C provides more favourable effects compared to other cooling air temperatures (0 °C, −30 °C,−45 °C). Short chips are produced under MQL with cooling air conditions due to the high velocity of cooling air enhances the chip brittleness for easy chip breaking, and the effective penetration of lubricant to the chip-tool interface results in lower friction. However, due to the dramatic increase in chip hardness at lower temperature, MQL with cooling air environments cannot promote chip curl to some extent.     

Modelling chip formation of alloy 718

The aim of this article is to investigate the effect of different fracture criteria on the chip formation process, focusing on the formation of segmented chips and what happens around the cutting edge. Furthermore, it is investigated how well the finite element model is able to capture the transition from continuous to segmented chip formation in alloy 718. Machining alloy 718 at lower cutting speeds (below 50 m/min) the chip produced is long and continuous. At higher cutting speeds (above 100 m/min) the chip produced is segmented. The conclusion from this study is that the transition from continuous chip to segmented chip is caused by both thermal softening and material damage. Furthermore it is concluded that a fracture criterion with a hydrostatic dependency shall be used for accurate modelling of chip segmentation.     

Dynamics of chip formation during orthogonal cutting of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Polished and etched disks of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V were machined in a series of continuous and interrupted orthogonal cutting tests on a specially adapted lathe. A high-speed imaging system with a microscope lens and strobed copper-vapour laser illumination system enabled direct observation of the chip formation zone at a recording rate of 24,000 frames/s. The chip formation cycle was recorded for cutting speeds from 4 to 140 m/min. Segmented chips were observed throughout. Image analysis of the recorded video sequences examined the resulting chip segment geometry, the segmentation frequency and the critical strain required to initiate shear band formation.     

New observations on tool life, cutting forces and chip morphology in cryogenic machining Ti-6Al-4V

The use of cryogenic coolant in metal cutting has received renewed recent attention because liquid nitrogen is a safe, clean, non-toxic coolant that requires no expensive disposal and can substantially improve tool life. This work investigates the effectiveness of cryogenic coolant during turning of Ti-6Al-4V at a constant speed and material removal rate (125 m/min, 48.5 cm³/min) with different combinations of feed rate and depth of cut. It is found that the greatest improvement in tool life using cryogenic coolant occurs for conditions of high feed rate and low depth of cut combinations. However, this combination of machining parameters produces much shorter tool life compared to low feed rate and high depth of cut combinations. It is found that preventing heat generation during cutting is far more advantageous towards extending tool life rather than attempting to remove the heat with cryogenic coolant. Although cryogenic coolant is effective in extracting heat from the cutting zone, it is proposed that cryogenic coolant may limit the frictional heat generated during cutting and limit heat transfer to the tool by reducing the tool-chip contact length. The effect of cryogenic coolant on cutting forces and chip morphology is also examined.     

An experimental study of the effect of high-pressure water jet assisted turning (HPWJAT) on the surface integrity

This study deals with the effect of High-Pressure Water Jet Assisted Turning (HPWJAT) of austenitic stainless steels on chip shape and residual stresses. The machining of the austenitic stainless steels represents several difficulties. Recently, research has shown that the introduction of a high-pressure water jet into the gap between the tool and the chip interface is a very satisfactory method for machining applications. In this article, the effect of a high-pressure water jet, directed into the tool-chip interface, on chip shapes breakage and surface integrity in face turning operations of AISI 316L steel has been investigated. Tests have been carried out with a standard cutting tool. The cutting speeds used were 80 and 150 m/min, with a constant feed rate of 0.1 mm/rev and a constant cutting depth of 1 mm. Three jet pressures were used: 20, 50 and 80 MPa. Residual stress profiles have been analysed using the X-ray diffraction method in both longitudinal and transversal directions. The results show that jet pressure and cutting parameters influence the residual stresses and the chip shapes. Using a high-pressure jet, it is possible to create a well fragmented chip in contrast to the continuous chip formed using dry turning. It is also possible to control the chip shape and increase tool life. When the jet pressure is increased the residual stress at the surface decreases; however it is increased by an increase in cutting speed. It can be concluded that surface residual stresses can be reduced by the introduction of a high-pressure water jet.     

Formation of Ti2AlN phase after post-heat treatment of Ti-Al-N films deposited by pulsed magnetron sputtering

Ti-Al-N films with different compositions were prepared by varying the nitrogen flow rate using pulsed magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed in air at 700 °C. The microstructure and microhardness of the films were investigated before and after heat treatment. The XRD results indicate that no Ti₂AlN MAX phase occurs in all the as-deposited films. Ti₂AlN phases could be acquired only after annealing via solid state reaction. The formation condition of Ti₂AlN phase is strongly dependent on the film composition. It has been found that the nitrogen concentration in the films plays a key role for the phase formation, and the critical value is in the range of 22.5-29.6 at.%. The fractured cross-section SEM images show that all the as-deposited films exhibit a fine columnar morphology. The annealed films with Ti₂AlN phase components change the morphology from columnar to fine equiaxed polycrystalline. In addition, the microhardness of the films containing Ti₂AlN phase is also explored, which is within the range of 18-24 GPa.     

An enhanced constitutive material model for machining of Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Material failure due to adiabatic shear banding is a characteristic feature of chip formation in machining of Ti–6Al–4V material. In this paper, an enhanced Zerilli–Armstrong (Z-A) based material flow stress model is developed by accounting for the effects of material failure mechanisms such as voids and micro-cracks on the material flow strength during shear band formation. These effects are captured via a multiplicative failure function in the constitutive material flow stress model. The strain and strain rate dependence of the material failure mechanism are explicitly modeled via the failure function. The five unknown constants of the failure function are calibrated using cutting force data and the entire model is verified using separate force, chip segmentation frequency and tool–chip contact length data from orthogonal cutting experiments reported by 0035 and 0040. Model predictions of these quantities based on the enhanced material model are shown to be in good agreement with experiments over a wide range of cutting conditions.     

Effect of tool edge geometry and cutting conditions on experimental and simulated chip morphology in orthogonal hard turning of 100Cr6 steel

Understanding chip formation mechanisms in hard turning is an important area of research. In this study, experiments with varying cutting conditions and tool edge geometry were performed concurrently with finite element simulations. The aim was to investigate how the two mechanisms reported in literature namely—surface shear-cracking (SCH) and catastrophic thermoplastic instability (CTI) contribute to overall chip geometry and machining forces. By varying tool edge geometry and cutting conditions predominance of one over another is discussed. The calculation prescribed by Recht [Recht, R., 1964. Catastrophic thermoplastic shear. J. Appl. Mech. 31, 189–193] for representative cutting conditions resulted in a small critical cutting speed of 0.034 m/min indicating CTI was operative in the range of cutting conditions tested. FEM simulations were conducted on a subset of experimental conditions. Chip geometry and forces were compared between experiments and simulations. The experimental results indicated that SCH predominated in a majority of conditions. However, formation of saw-tooth chips in the FEM simulations established the occurrence of CTI also. Specifically, the edge radius did not alter chip geometry parameters. However, machining forces decreased with cutting speed and chip formation frequency increased linearly with cutting speed. A more negative rake angle also increased the chip pitch. The findings also indicate that only an intrinsic length scale governs saw-tooth chip formation in hard turning.     

Effect of water vapor on annealing scale formation on 316 SS

The oxidation behavior of 316 stainless steel (SS) annealed in air containing 0.1 atm water vapor at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1030 °C was investigated. A kinetic study of the oxidation was made by employing thermal-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The morphology, composition and structure of the scale were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results showed that significant breakaway oxidation occurred, resulting in substantial weight increase, as the steel was annealed in moist air at temperatures above 950 °C. The scaling behavior of 316 SS in wet air at 1030 °C could be divided into two stages based on the alteration of the oxidation rate. In each stage, the scale on 316 SS exhibited a different structure and morphology. The complex process of the formation of scale in wet air was discussed and proposed.     

Machining Ti–6Al–4V alloy with cryogenic compressed air cooling

A new cooling approach with cryogenic compressed air has been developed in order to cool the cutting tool edge during turning of Ti–6Al–4V alloy. The cutting forces, chip morphology and chip temperature were measured and compared with those measured during machining with compressed air cooling and dry cutting conditions. The chip temperature is lower with cryogenic compressed air cooling than those with compressed air cooling and dry machining. The combined effects of reduced friction and chip bending away from the cutting zone as a result of the high-speed air produce a thinner chip with cryogenic compressed air cooling and a thicker chip with compressed air cooling compared to dry machining alone. The marginally higher cutting force associated with the application of cryogenic compressed air compared with dry machining is the result of lower chip temperatures and a higher shear plane angle. The tendency to form a segmented chip is higher when machining with cryogenic compressed air than that with compressed air and dry machining only within the ranges of cutting speed and feed when chip transitions from continuous to the segmented. The effect of cryogenic compressed air on the cutting force and chip formation diminishes with increase in cutting speed and feed rate. The application of both compressed air and cryogenic compressed air reduced flank wear and the tendency to form the chip built-up edge. This resulted in a smaller increase in cutting forces (more significantly in the feed force) after cutting long distance compared with that observed in dry machining.