Mechanistic force modeling in drilling of SiCp/Al matrix composites considering a comprehensive abrasive particle model

Abstract

SiCp/Al composite is one of the key light metal matrix composites widely used in aerospace and electronics industries due to its excellent material properties. Understanding the mechanism of abrasive particle action and the cutting force generation is crucial for achieving desired hole quality and machining accuracy. However, there is no research on cutting force modeling in drilling of SiCp/Al composites. This paper proposes an energy-based mechanistic modeling method to predict the cutting force in drilling of SiCp/Al composites for the first time. A new comprehensive abrasive particle model considering different particle action mechanisms, such as cracking, debonding, and squeezing, is presented to depict the energy consumed by abrasive particle action. Experiments with a wide range of particle volume fractions and feed rates, and different particle sizes were carried out to validate the accuracy of the proposed model. Results show that the proposed model can accurately predict the cutting force with an average error of 6.55% in drilling of SiCp/Al composites. Furthermore, the energy consumed on abrasive particle action is estimated to be 8.2–13.6% of total cutting energy. The proposed model on SiCp/Al composites can be extended to other particle reinforced metal matrix composites.