Experimental and numerical study of laser-assisted machining of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy

Laser-assisted machining combines several experimental parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut, laser power and distance between tool rake face and the laser beam axis. The optimization of these parameters is necessary to ensure the efficiency of assistance and to increase productivity. This paper focuses on the understanding of the physical phenomena during laser-assisted machining, and on optimising this process. This contribution is based on an experimental and a numerical study. The experimentalpart highlights the effects of the laser power as well as the distance between the tool rake face and the axis of the laser beam. As for the numerical part, it was performed on the ABAQUS/Explicit software. The proposed model improves the understanding of the physical phenomena of chip formation and the cutting force reduction when machining with laser assistance. In addition, this model allows a better optimization of laser and cutting parameters.Numerical findings generally corroborate experimental results and can lead to some other information difficult to catch experimentally. The main contention in the paper is that the distance between the axis of the laser beam and the tool rake face is the most important parameter that controls the reduction of the cutting force. This cutting force reduction can exceed 50%

Experimental Study of tool Wear Mechanisms in Conventional and High Pressure Coolant Assisted Machining of Titanium Alloy Ti17

Titanium alloys are known for their excellent mechanical properties, especially at high temperature. But this specificity of titanium alloys can cause high cutting forces as well as a significant release of heat that may entail a rapid wear of the cutting tool. To cope with these problems, research has been taken in several directions. One of these is the development of assistances for machining. In this study, we investigate the high pressure coolant assisted machining of titanium alloy Ti17. High pressure coolant consists of projecting a jet of water between the rake face of the tool and the chip. The efficiency of the process depends on the choice of the operating parameters of machining and the parameters of the water jet such as its pressure and its diameter. The use of this type of assistance improves chip breaking and increases tool life. Indeed, the machining of titanium alloys is generally accompanied by rapid wear of cutting tools, especially in rough machining. The work done focuses on the wear of uncoated tungsten carbide tools during machining of Ti17. Rough and finish machining in conventional and in high pressure coolant assistance conditions were tested. Different techniques were used in order to explain the mechanisms of wear. These tests are accompanied by measurement of cutting forces, surface roughness and tool wear. The Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis technique made it possible to draw the distribution maps of alloying elements on the tool rake face. An area of material deposition on the rake face, characterized by a high concentration of titanium, was noticed. The width of this area and the concentration of titanium decreases in proportion with the increasing pressure of the coolant. The study showed that the wear mechanisms with and without high pressure coolant assistance are different. In fact, in the condition of conventional machining, temperature in the cutting zone becomes very high and, with lack of lubrication, the cutting edge deforms plastically and eventually collapses quickly. By contrast, in high pressure coolant assisted machining, this problem disappears and flank wear (VB) is stabilized at high pressure. The sudden rupture of the cutting edge observed under these conditions is due to the propagation of a notch and to the crater wear that appears at high pressure. Moreover, in rough condition, high pressure assistance made it possible to increase tool life by up to 400%.Authors would like to thank « Région des pays de la loire » for funding of the project which is part of a PhD thesi

Approches expérimentales et numériques de l'usinage assisté jet d'eau haute pression (étude des mécanismes d'usure et contribution à la modélisation multi-physiques de la coupe)

Cette étude porte sur l'usinage de l'alliage de titane Ti17 avec une assistance jet d'eau haute pression. Une attention particulière a été portée à l'analyse des mécanismes de dégradation et d'usure des outils lors de l'usinage avec et sans assistance. Le suivi de l'usure est réalisé par des observations régulières au microscope électronique à balayage (MEB) et par des analyses chimiques (technique EDS) afin de déterminer les zones de dépôt de matière sur l'outil. Toutes ces observations ont permis d'expliquer les mécanismes d'usure pour une opération d'ébauche et de finition. Il a été montré que les mécanismes d'usure sont différents entre l'usinage conventionnel et l'usinage assisté. En effet, lors de l'assistance jet d'eau haute pression, certains mécanismes ne sont plus activités mais d'autres mécanismes sont accélérés. Il existe donc une pression de jet d'eau optimale pour minimiser l'usure de l'outil.Afin de mettre en évidence l'effet du jet d'eau sur les phénomènes thermomécaniques dans les zones de formation du copeau, une modélisation par éléments finis est réalisée. Un couplage fluide / structure a dû être mis en place afin de prendre en compte les actions mécaniques et thermiques du jet d'eau sur la zone de coupe. Pour cela, la loi de comportement et le modèle d'endommagement de Johnson-Cook, ont été identifiés pour le Ti17 dans des conditions extrêmes sur une large gamme de températures et de vitesses de déformation. Cette modélisation a permis de mettre en évidence, pour l'usinage assisté haute pression, la diminution de la zone de contact outil/copeau, de retrouver la fragmentation du copeau et de quantifier le refroidissement des différentes zones de cisaillement.En revanche, cette modélisation ne permet pas de connaître l'effet de l'hétérogénéité microstructurale du matériau sur la zone de coupe. Ce constat est d'autant plus important que le matériau étudié présente une taille de grain importante (de l'ordre du millimètre). Pour cela, une nouvelle modélisation (multi-échelle) a été développée afin de prendre en compte la microstructure du matériau. Le matériau est donc modélisé comme un polycristal qui prend en compte des lois de la plasticité cristalline. Cette nouvelle approche permet alors de simuler la formation du copeau en prenant en compte les orientations cristallines des grains et les changements de phase qui apparaissent lors de l'usinage.This study focuses on the machining of the Ti17 titanium alloy using high-pressure water jet assistance. Special emphasis is placed on the analysis of degradation mechanisms and tool wear during machining, with and without assistance. Wear monitoring was achieved by regular observations using both scanning electron microscope (SEM) and chemical analysis (EDS technique) to determine the areas of material deposition on the tool. These observations made it possible to explain the wear mechanisms for roughing and finishing conditions. Wear mechanisms for conventional machining and for assisted machining were found to be significantly different. Indeed, with high-pressure water jet assistance, some tool wear mechanisms are no longer activated, whereas others are accelerated. Hence, there exists an optimum water jet pressure which minimizes tool wear.To highlight the effect of water jet assistance on the thermomechanical phenomena in the chip formation zone, finite-element modeling has been performed. Fluid/structure coupling was developed to take into account the mechanical and thermal effects of the water jet. For this to be possible, the Johnson-Cook constitutive law and damage model have been identified for the Ti17 titanium alloy, under extreme conditions, over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates. This modeling has highlighted the fact that, for high-pressure assisted machining, the tool/chip contact zone is reduced. In addition, the simulation of chip fragmentation as well as the cooling effect on the tool and workpiece is possible.However, this model does not shed light on the effect of the microstructural heterogeneity of the material in the cutting zone. This is an important observation because the material studied has a very large grain size (of the order of a millimeter). For this reason, a new (multi-scale) modeling approach has been developed to take into consideration the microstructure of the material. The material is subsequently modeled as a polycrystal which obeys crystal plasticity constitutive laws. This new approach is then used to simulate chip formation, taking into account the grain orientations and phase changes that occur during the machining process.PARIS-Arts et Métiers (751132303) / SudocSudocFranceF

Numerical analysis of constitutive coefficients effects on FE simulation of the 2D orthogonal cutting process: application to the Ti6Al4V

In this paper, a deep study of constitutive parameters definition effect is done in order to guarantee sufficient reliability of the finite element machining modeling. The case of a particular biphasic titanium alloy Ti6Al4V known by its low machinability is investigated. The Johnson-Cook (JC) elasto-thermo-visco-plastic-damage model combined with the energy-based ductile fracture criteria is used. Segmentation frequency, chip curvature radius, shear band spacing, chip serration sensitivity and intensity, accumulated plastic strain in the formed chip segments, and cutting forces levels are determined where their dependency to every constitutive coefficient is examined and highlighted. It is demonstrated from the separate variation of every plastic and damage parameters that an interesting finite element modeling (FEM) relevance is reached with the adjustment of JC strain hardening coefficients term, thermal softening parameter, exponent fracture factor, and damage evolution energy. Moderate and high cutting speeds are applied to the cutting tool in the aim to test their impact on shear localization, chip segmentation, and numerical forces levels as well as to approve previous highlighted findings related to constitutive parameters definition. In general, this study focuses on a prominent decrease in identification process cost with the previous knowledge of the most affecting constitutive coefficients while keeping an interesting agreement between numerical and experimental results

A 2D finite element analysis of the effect of numerical parameters on the reliability of Ti6Al4V machining modeling

The numerical analysis, based on the finite element modeling (FEM), presents nowadays an efficient computational tool. It allows a better understanding of several thermo-mechanical phenomena involved during the machining process. However, its reliability heavily depends on the accurate definition of the numerical model. In this regard, a FE analysis focused on the 2D modeling of the Ti6Al4V dry orthogonal machining was carried out in this study. The relevance of different numerical meshing approaches and finite elements topologies was studied. The effect of the friction coefficient on the numerical chip morphology, its geometry, the cutting and the feed forces was investigated. The adequacy of several compared adaptive meshing approaches, in terms of the modeling of severe contact conditions taking place around the cutting-edge radius, was underlined in the current study. However, numerical serrated chips, closer to the experimental ones, were only predicted when the pure Lagrangian formulation was adopted and a proper determination of the failure energy was carried out. The definition of different mesh topologies highlighted the efficiency of the 4-node quadrangular mesh, with a suitable edge length, in increasing the agreement with the experimental data, while reducing the computing times

Surface Integrity When Machining Inconel 718 Using Conventional Lubrication and Carbon Dioxide Coolant

Surface integrity induced by machining process affects strongly the performance of functional products, for instance, the fatigue life as well as the resistance to stress corrosion cracking. Consequently, it is relevant to evaluate the induced properties on and beneath the machined surface to ensure the good performance of the mechanical components while operating under either static or cyclic loads. Furthermore, this is even more important when designing critical components that withstand high loads at high temperatures. In this context, many studies have been carried out in order to characterize the surface integrity (residual stresses, surface roughness, micro-hardness of the affected layer) when machining Inconel 718. However, so far, the cryogenic effect on surface integrity of Inconel 718 is not well established although some preliminary works have already been developed. Therefore, this work aimed to point out the performance of cryogenic machining using the carbon dioxide CO2 as a cryogenic cutting fluid, considering as a reference the conventional lubrication. A comparative study has been carried out during turning operations of Inconel 718 using the same cutting parameters and the same tool geometry. Microhardness measurements showed that the CO2 condition induced higher strain hardening near the surface while conventional condition did not generate notable difference compared to the bulk material microhardness. With respect to residual stresses, results showed that conventional lubrication generated higher tensile residual stress near the surface along the cutting direction when using new tools. As for CO2 cryogenic condition, lower tensile residual stresses have been obtained near the surface. In addition, CO2 condition induced the largest compressive peak when using new and semi−worn tools in comparison with conventional lubrication

Numerical analysis of the Ti6Al4V behavior based on the definition of a new phenomenological model

The finite element modeling is significantly dependent on the accurate prediction of the material behavior. In order to increase the accuracy of numerical simulations, a new phenomenological model is proposed in this study. Its mathematical formulation allows suitable predictions of the Ti6Al4V sensitivity to strain rates and temperatures, while maintaining a low identification cost of its constitutive coefficients.A subroutineVUMATis developed, and its reliability is investigated in the case of themodeling of uniaxial tensile and impact tests. In addition, the 3D numerical analysis of the machining process is investigated based on the definition of the rheological Johnson-Cook model and the proposed one. Experimental orthogonal machining tests are also established for several cutting conditions. The significant sensitivity of the chip serration, the segments geometry, and the cutting forces to the feed rate is pointed out. Comparisons of the numerical results corresponding to different constitutive models are carried out. High-correlation levels with the experimental results are reached with the definition of the proposed phenomenological model, which is not the case of the Johnson-Cook empirical law.Moreover, intuitive insights about the effect of cutting conditions on the material flow towards the workpiece edges are provided with the 3D modeling. A pronounced increase of the width of side burrs with the feed rate rise was underlined. The results presented in this study point out the inability of 2D numerical simulations to accurately predict the phenomena induced during the machining process, even in the case of an orthogonal machinin

A crystal plasticity-based constitutive model for near-β titanium alloys under extreme loading conditions: Application to the Ti17 alloy

A crystal plasticity-based constitutive model is proposed to describe the thermo-mechanical behavior of the Ti17 titanium alloy subjected to extreme loading conditions. The model explicitly incorporates the effect of the crystallographic orientation of the hcp and bcc phases. The constitutive equations are built in the context of continuum thermodynamics with internal variables. The general framework of continuum damage mechanics is used to consider the impact of ductile damage on the mechanical behavior. The proposed model is implemented in a finite element method solver. The material parameters are identified from an extensive experimental dataset with an inverse method. According to the results, the impact of the strain rate and the temperature on the mechanical behavior is correctly depicted. The model is then used to evaluate the impact of temperature on strain localization. The role of the local texture on the development of ductile damage is also discussed for different specimen geometries. Finally, the impact of heat exchanges on the mechanical behavior at low and high temperatures is investigated

Development of a Hyperelastic Constitutive Model Based on the Crystal Plasticity Theory for the Simulation of Machining Operations

In this work, a hyperelastic constitutive model is developed to describe the thermo-mechanical behavior of the Ti17 titanium alloy. The grain shape and the crystallographic orientation are explicitly taken into account. The behavior of both the α and β phases is modelled with a crystal plasticity formulation coupled to a CDM (Continuum Damage Model). The constitutive model is implemented in the ABAQUS/Explicit finite element solver with a user-defined subroutine. The model parameters are identified from experimental tests. According to the cutting simulation results, both strain localization and chip segmentation are strongly impacted by the crystallographic orientation.Agglomération Angers Loire Métropol

Heat treatment simulation of Ti-6Al-4V parts produced by selective laser melting

The present work focuses on the simulation of the heat treatment applied after printing of Ti-6Al-4V parts. The numerical tool aims at predicting the influence of heat treatment conditions (e.g. holding time, temperature) on the residual stress field and the distortions for SLM produced parts. The numerical model relies on a thermo-viscoplastic constitutive model. To determine the corresponding material parameters, different creep tests have been performed at temperatures ranging from 723 K to 1173 K. According to the results, the stationary creep strain rate is independent of the hydrostatic pressure, which indicates that the high temperature behavior is not impacted by the initial porosity. Also, the material parameters are observed to change significantly from 873 K, which is due to the progressive transformation of the initial a' martensitic microstructure into the a+b lamellar microstructure. To validate the proposed approach, some numerical simulations have been performed for two different parts, for which distortions have been measured. The numerical and experimental distortions have then been compared to each other. For both parts, the agreement between experimental and numerical data is correct