Research on deformation law and mechanism for milling micro thin wall with mixed boundaries of titanium alloy in mesoscale

Abstract

At mesoscale, the blade of micro impeller with Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy (micro thin wall with mixed boundaries) is a thin-walled structure, characterized by small size, low stiffness, high surface precision, complex boundaries, and difficult-to-control machining deformation. To control and reduce the deformation of micro thin wall, it is necessary to study the micro-deformation mechanisms during milling micro thin-wall parts. In side milling of micro thin wall with mixed boundaries, the micro thin wall suffers from dynamic alternating forces, and the deformation modes are complex, so the direct and accurate theoretical modelling is difficult to make. Since the feed speed in milling micro thin wall is less, the small deformation of micro thin wall can be described based on the flexure deformation model of the thin plate subjected to elastic loadings. Firstly, accompanied by the reciprocal theorem of work for a curved thin plate, Kirchhoff-Love small deformation model of micro thin wall is used to establish the deformation equation and boundary conditions of micro thin wall with mixed boundaries under concentrated milling forces. Thus, the obtained boundary conditions are mainly applied to the subsequent finite element simulation of three-dimensional milling deformation of micro thin wall. Then a three-dimensional deformation simulation of the micro thin wall under different milling parameters is carried out by considering the micro-walled structure, material elasto-plastic constitutive model, the stiffness and geometric structure of micro milling tools in finite element method. In the workpiece constitutive modelling, considering the strain gradient plastic model in micro milling of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, the workpiece plastic constitutive model is modified by introducing the intrinsic characteristic length of the material to describe the size effects in mesoscale micro milling. Finally, a series of the corresponding experiments on the milling of titanium alloy micro thin walls are carried out. By comparing and analyzing the experimental values and finite element numerical results of the micro thin-walled deformation, the micro deformation mechanisms in milling of thin wall are revealed. It also verifies the accuracy and effectiveness of this established milling finite element model of thin wall, and provides theoretical basis and technical support for controlling the milling deformation of micro thin-walled parts.