Titanium and nickel alloys represent a significant metal portion of the aircraft structural and engine components. When these critical structural components in aerospace industry are manufactured with the objective to reach high reliability levels, surface integrity is one of the most relevant parameters used for evaluating the quality of finish machined surfaces. The residual stresses and surface alteration (white etch layer and depth of work hardening) induced by machining of titanium alloys and nickel-based alloys are very critical due to safety and sustainability concerns. This review paper provides an overview of machining induced surface integrity in titanium and nickel alloys. There are many different types of surface integrity problems reported in literature, and among these, residual stresses, white layer and work hardening layers, as well as microstructural alterations can be studied in order to improve surface qualities of end products. Many parameters affect the surface quality of workpieces, and cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut, tool geometry and preparation, tool wear, and workpiece properties are among the most important ones worth to investigate. Experimental and empirical studies as well as analytical and Finite Element modeling based approaches are offered in order to better understand machining induced surface integrity. In the current state-of-the-art however, a comprehensive and systematic modeling approach based on the process physics and applicable to the industrial processes is still missing. It is concluded that further modeling studies are needed to create predictive physics-based models that is in good agreement with reliable experiments, while explaining the effects of many parameters, for machining of titanium alloys and nickel-based alloys.

Machining induced surface integrity in titanium and nickel alloys: A review

Recent advances in modelling of metal machining processes

Titanium alloys present superior properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to corrosion but, possess poor machinability. In this study, influence of material constitutive models and elastic–viscoplastic finite element formulation on serrated chip formation for modeling of machining Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy is investigated. Temperature-dependent flow softening based modified material models are proposed where flow softening phenomenon, strain hardening and thermal softening effects and their interactions are coupled. Orthogonal cutting experiments have been conducted with uncoated carbide (WC/Co) and TiAlN coated carbide cutting tools. Temperature-dependent flow softening parameters are validated on a set of experimental data by using measured cutting forces and chip morphology. Finite Element simulations are validated with experimental results at two different rake angles, three different undeformed chip thickness values and two different cutting speeds. The results reveal that material flow stress and finite element formulation greatly affects not only chip formation mechanism but also forces and temperatures predicted. Chip formation process for adiabatic shearing in machining Ti–6Al–4V alloy is successfully simulated using finite element models without implementing damage models.

Modified material constitutive models for serrated chip formation simulations and experimental validation in machining of titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics method for fluid flows, towards industrial applications: Motivations, current state, and challenges

Flank wear is the most commonly observed and unavoidable phenomenon in metal cutting which is also a major source of economic loss resulting due to material loss and machine down time. A wide variety of monitoring techniques have been developed for the online detection of flank wear. In order to provide a broad view of flank wear monitoring techniques and their implementation in tool condition monitoring system (TCMS), this paper reviews three key features of a TCMS, namely (1) signal acquisition, (2) signal processing and feature extraction, and (3) artificial intelligence techniques for decision making.

A review of flank wear prediction methods for tool condition monitoring in a turning process

A new material constitutive law is implemented in a 2D finite element model to analyse the chip formation and shear localisation when machining titanium alloys. The numerical simulations use a commercial finite element software (FORGE 2005®) able to solve complex thermo-mechanical problems. One of the main machining characteristics of titanium alloys is to produce segmented chips for a wide range of cutting speeds and feeds. The present study assumes that the chip segmentation is only induced by adiabatic shear banding, without material failure in the primary shear zone. The new developed model takes into account the influence of strain, strain rate and temperature on the flow stress and also introduces a strain softening effect. The tool chip friction is managed by a combined Coulomb–Tresca friction law. The influence of two different strain softening levels and machining parameters on the cutting forces and chip morphology has been studied. Chip morphology, cutting and feed forces predicted by numerical simulations are compared with experimental results.

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A new material model for 2D numerical simulation of serrated chip formation when machining titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V

This paper aims to establish the wear mechanisms of coated and uncoated tungsten carbide drills when drilling carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP)/aluminium alloy (Al) stacks. During the drilling experiments, thrust forces were measured. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a numerical microscope, provided with a scanning device, were periodically used to analyse tool wear mechanisms and to measure wear progression of the tool cutting edges. For both coated and uncoated drills, abrasion was the dominant tool wear mechanism, affecting the entire cutting edges. Higher wear was observed on uncoated tools which caused a significant increase in thrust force during drilling both Al and CFRP materials. The influence of these phenomena on the quality of the holes and on the generated roughness was also discussed.

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Evaluation of the performance of coated and uncoated carbide tools in drilling thick CFRP/aluminium alloy stacks

A finite element modelling was carried out to analyse the chip morphology and adiabatic shear banding localisation processes when high-speed machining refractory titanium alloys. A thermo-visco-plastic model for the machined material and a rigid with thermal behaviour for the cutting tool were assumed. The study tries to understand the effect of the material behaviour on the produced chip morphology. One of the main characteristics of titanium chips is a segmented shape for a wide range of cutting conditions. This kind of morphology was found only dependent on adiabatic shear banding without material damage effect in the shear zones (primary and secondary shear zones). The influence of the material characteristics (strain softening, thermal softening, etc.) and machining parameters on the cutting forces and chip morphology were analysed. Three flow-stress laws and different friction coefficients (low and high friction) at the tool-chip interface was particularly analysed to explain the different morphologies obtained for refractory titanium chips.

Numerical analysis of chip formation and shear localisation processes in machining the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

The aim of this study is to improve the general understanding of tungsten carbide (WC-Co) tool wear under dry machining of the hard-to-cut titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The chosen approach includes experimental and numerical tests. The experimental part is designed to identify wear mechanisms using cutting force measurements, scanning electron microscope observations and optical profilometer analysis. Machining tests were conducted in the orthogonal cutting framework and showed a strong evolution of the cutting forces and the chip profiles with tool wear. Then, a numerical method has been used in order to model the machining process with both new and worn tools. The use of smoothed particle hydrodynamics model (SPH model) as a numerical tool for a better understanding of the chip formation with worn tools is a key aspect of this work. The predicted chip morphology and the cutting force evolution with respect to the tool wear are qualitatively compared with experimental trends. The chip formation mechanisms during dry cutting process are shown to be quite dependent from the worn tool geometry. These mechanisms explain the high variation of the experimental and numerical feed force between new and worn tools.

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Toward a better understanding of tool wear effect through a comparison between experiments and SPH numerical modelling of machining hard materials

In this study, the commercial finite element software FORGE2005®, able to solve complex thermo-mechanical problems is used to model titanium alloy dry machining. One of the main machining characteristics of titanium alloys is to produce a special chip morphology named “saw-tooth chip” or serrated chip for a wide range of cutting speeds and feeds. The mechanism of saw-tooth chip formation is still not completely understood. Among the two theories about its formation, this study assumes that chip segmentation is only induced by adiabatic shear band formation and thus no material failure occurs in the primary shear zone. Based on the assumption of material strain softening, a new material law was developed. The aim of this study is to analyze the newly developed model's capacity to correctly simulate the machining process. The model validation is based on the comparison of experimental and simulated results, such as chip formation, global chip morphology, cutting forces and geometrical chip characteristics. ...

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Madalina Calamaz

Papers

A new material model for 2D numerical simulation of serrated chip formation when machining titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V

Evaluation of the performance of coated and uncoated carbide tools in drilling thick CFRP/aluminium alloy stacks

Numerical analysis of chip formation and shear localisation processes in machining the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

Toward a better understanding of tool wear effect through a comparison between experiments and SPH numerical modelling of machining hard materials

Numerical simulation of titanium alloy dry machining with a strain softening constitutive law