Effect of Alloying, Heat Treatment and Carbon Content on White Layer Formation in Machining of Steels

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the role of alloying, carbon content, and heat treatment on white layer formation in machining of steels. This is carried out by machining steels that differ in alloying, heat treatment and carbon content, via orthogonal cutting tests performed with low CBN content tools. The thickness of white layer produced in AISI 1045 and AISI 4340 annealed steels are compared to determine the effect of alloying on white layer formation. The effect of heat treatment on white layer formation is investigated by machining annealed and hardened AISI 4340 steels. The effect of carbon content on white layer formation is investigated by cutting AISI 52100 and AISI 4340 steels of the same hardness (53 HRC). Since 52100 steel has almost twice the amount of carbon and less number of alloying elements than AISI 4340 steel, an approximate understanding of the effect of carbon content on white layer formation can be inferred. The results of the study show that alloying, heat treatment, and carbon content influence white layer formation. The possible roles of the maximum workpiece surface temperature, effective plastic strain and stress on white layer formation in the different steels are also analyzed via finite element simulations performed in a commercially available code.