Machined Surface Morphology and Generation Mechanism of NbC Particle Reinforced Iron-Base Composites

Abstract

In this paper, the morphology of machined surface in turning NbC particle reinforced iron-base composites was investigated. It indicates that since the dispersive distribution of reinforcing particles, the machined surface is likely to occur various defects such as tool traces, small pits, discontinuous grooves or micro-cracks. Moreover, the surface generation mechanism was discussed. There exist three different behaviors for reinforcing particles such as brittle breakage, pressed into or flaking off the machined surface during machining. Generally, particles of small diameter are likely to be pressed into the matrix and the machining defects are relatively slight. However, particles of large diameter are likely to break or flake off, which makes surface integrity deteriorate.