Chip/Tool Interaction during Dry Machining of the TA6V Alloy

Abstract

During chip formation, material is subjected to high deformations and high strain rates which generate high pressures and temperatures. Cutting fluids have an important role but produce many constraints: cleaning of parts, environment quality degradation, cost increase, diseases as identified by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Dry machining is one of the future challenges although its implementation remains delicate, in particular for TiAl6V alloy. This paper aims at correlating the contact conditions at the tool/chip interface with the tool wear to understand the wear mechanisms of carbide tools in dry machining. Numerical simulations, experimentally validated, allow pointing out that the temperature distribution at the tool/chip interface depends on chip type (continuous, serrated). For continuous chips, the temperature is fairly uniform and stationary throughout the interface. For segmented chips, a cold zone between two temperature peaks is observed and moves along the tool rake face during the formation of a chip segment. The evolution of the normal stress at the interface is similar for both types of chips at the beginning of the localization phenomenon. These pressure and temperature fields allow the titanium to diffuse into the tungsten carbide and form the mixed carbide (Ti, W)C, which is very sensitive to oxidation above 500°C. This could explain the attrition of the tool, due to the brittleness of the oxycarbides. Contact conditions and tool wear are finally correlated.