The mechanism of ductile chip formation in cutting of brittle materials

A theoretical analysis for the mechanism of ductile chip formation in the cutting of brittle materials is presented in this paper. The coexisting crack propagation and dislocation in the chip formation zone in the cutting of ductile materials are examined based on an analysis of the geometry and forces in the cutting region, both on Taylor’s dislocation hardening theory and the strain gradient plasticity theory. It was found that the ductile chip formation was a result of large compressive stress and shear stress in the chip formation zone, which shields the growth of pre-existing flaws by suppressing the stress intensity factor K _I . Additionally, ductile chip formation in the cutting of brittle materials can result from the enhancement of material yield strength in the chip formation zone. The large compressive stress can be generated in the chip formation zone with two conditions. The first condition is associated with a small, undeformed chip thickness, while the second is related to the undeformed chip thickness being smaller than the radius of the tool cutting edge. The analysis also shows that the thrust force F _t is much larger than the cutting force F _c . This indicates that large compressive stress is generated in the chip formation zone. This also confirms that the ductile chip formation is a result of large compressive stress in the chip formation zone, which shields the growth of pre-existing flaws in the material by suppressing the stress intensity factor K _I . The enhancement of material yield strength can be provided by dislocation hardening and strain gradient at the mesoscale, such that the workpiece material can undertake the large cutting stresses in the chip formation zone without fracture. Experiments for ductile cutting of tungsten carbide are conducted. The results show that ductile chip formation can be achieved as the undeformed chip thickness is small enough, as well as the undeformed chip thickness is smaller than the tool cutting edge radius.