Cutting cheese with wire

Abstract

Wire cutting involves fracture, plastic deformation and surface friction effects so that, in principle, it provides a method for determining parameters for all these properties. This paper describes an analysis in terms of the fracture toughness, G c, the yield stress, σy, and the coefficient of friction, μ. By measuring the cutting force as a function of wire diameter, G c and (1 + μ)σy can be found. These values are compared with direct measurements in notched bending for G c, in simple compression for μ and σy, and in sliding tests for μ. A comparison of values obtained for a range of cheeses shows encouraging agreement.