Investigation of mechanical and thermal loads in pcBN tooling during machining of Inconel 718

Abstract

This study investigates machining superalloy Inconel 718 with polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (pcBN) tooling both numerically and experimentally. Particular attention is given to mechanical and thermal stresses in the cutting tool arising from segmented chip formation and associated forces and temperatures. The temperature dependence of the mechanical properties of pcBN has been investigated and incorporated into a numerical model. In order to capture the dynamic loads due to a serrated chip formation, the Johnson–Cook damage model has been used. The extreme deformations during a machining process often results in a numerical difficulties due to a distorted elements. This paper uses the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) formulation in Abaqus/Explicit, where the workpiece is modelled with the Eulerian formulation and the cutting tool by the Lagrangian one. This CEL formulation enables to completely avoid mesh distortion. The finite element simulation results are validated via comparison of the modelled static and dynamic cutting forces and thermal loads induced into the cutting tool. The numerical model predicts a temperature of 1100–1200 ∘C at the cutting interface, which is in line with experimental determined data. The principal stresses at the rake up to 300 MPa are recorded, whereas higher level of stresses up to 450 MPa are found in the notch region of the tool, well correlated with experimental observation.