Surface and sub-surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V components produced by selective electron beam melting with post-build finish machining

The emergence of metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes offer manufacturers a promising alternative to traditional forging and casting techniques for the production of near net shape titanium alloy components. However, limitations in both the surface finish quality and the geometric accuracy of parts produced by AM means that post-build finish machining of the part remains to be a requirement to produce high precision components. Furthermore, the fatigue performance of material produced directly by these processes is often limited by both the poor surface finish and porosity related defects which occur within the material. This study investigates the implications of machining stock allowance on the surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V specimens produced by selective electron beam melting (SEBM) followed by post-build finish machining. The study revealed that the exposure of porosity related defects on the newly machined surface varied depending on the depth of material removed from the as-built specimen surface during machining. Four point bend fatigue testing of the specimens was carried out to determine the effect of the exposed surface defects on the fatigue performance of the material. This study highlights that the non-uniform distribution of pores within SEBM Ti-6Al-4V means that careful considerations must be given regarding machining stock allowance in the design of these components due to the implications of material removal depth on surface integrity

Non-destructive detection of machining-induced white layers in ferromagnetic alloys

Machining-induced white layers are an undesirable surface integrity feature which, due to their physical properties, can have a direct effect on the in-service performance of aero-engine components. Typically, destructive methods such as cross-sectional microscopy are used during inspection to identify white layers. This is costly, both in terms of parts sacrificed and time-consumed. A non-destructive evaluation method could speed-up inspection and allow all parts to be inspected before entering service as well as throughout the component life cycle. The present work covers the quantitative characterization of machining-induced white layers in super chrome molybdenum vanadium steel through destructive methods in addition to Barkhausen noise non-destructive testing of the same surfaces. White layers formed by machining with severely worn inserts were measured to be up to 50% harder than the bulk material, possess nano-scale grains and can have an associated compressive residual stress state of up to -1800 MPa. Barkhausen noise testing was used to show that surfaces with a white layer formed by SPD could be detected by measuring shifts in the peak frequency of the Barkhausen noise signal, caused by the compressive near-surface residual stress state associated with the formation of white layers of this type

On design and tribological behaviour of laser textured surfaces

The paper reports an investigation into the functional response of textured surfaces with different designs that incorporated arrays of micro-dimples and grooves (40 μm diameter/width and 15 μm depth for both patterns) produced on tungsten carbide (WC) blocks by employing nanosecond (ns) and femtosecond (fs) lasers. In particular, the tribological performance of the textured WC blocks against stainless steel (SS316L) counterbody was evaluated in terms of friction and wear under dry condition compared to an untextured specimen. Friction tests were carried out on a reciprocating sliding tester while unidirectional ball-on-disc method was utilised to assess wear on the mating surfaces. The untextured surface exhibited a continuous rise in the friction coefficient from 0.15 to 0.5 from the start of the cycle to the end while the specimens textured with ns and fs lasers reached steady-state condition after 100 and 200 cycles with values between 0.35-0.45 and 0.3-0.4, respectively. Energy dispersive spectroscopy following wear tests showed a pronounced material transfer from the balls to the textured surfaces with stainless steel filling up some of the dimple and groove cavities; however, the reverse phenomenon was not apparent. Additionally, texturing with the fs laser exhibited formation of nano-ripples/structures in the produced dimples and grooves that can be further studied for creating nano-textured cutting tools or surfaces with super-hydrophobic/anti-ice properties

Influence of tool material and tool wear on tool temperature in hard turning reconstructed via inverse problem solution

In this work the cutting tool temperature distribution that develops during turning of hardened cold-work tool steel is modeled on the basis of experimental data. The data obtained from a series of thermocouples, placed on a PCBN insert, into an anvil, and into a toolholder, were used as the input for the model. An inverse problem was solved, where the heat fluxes were computed. The temperature distribution was modeled for the case of new tools, as well as for the case of its development in the course of a tool wear. The reconstructed temperature distributions were in good agreement with the measured data. The heat flux through rake face was found to be reducing with the decrease of thermal conductivity of the tool material.Отримано розподіл температури різального інструменту при точінні загартованої холодно-штампованої сталі інструменту моделюванням на основі експериментальних даних. Дані, що отримано для ряду термопар, розміщених безпосередньо на пластині з ПКНБ, всередині підкладки і в державці, було використано в якості вхідних даних для моделі. Теплові потоки при різанні було отримано розв’язанням оберненої задачі. Розподіл температури в різці було отримано як для випадку нового інструменту, так і для випадку розвитку зносу інструменту в процесі зносу. Отримані розподіли температури добре узгоджуються з виміряними даними. Було виявлено, що тепловий потік через передню поверхню інструменту зменшується при зниженні теплопровідності матеріалу інструменту.Получено распределение температуры режущего инструмента при точении закаленной холодно-штамповой стали моделированием на основе экспериментальных данных. Данные, полученные для ряда термопар, расположенных непосредственно на пластине из ПКНБ, внутри подложки и в державке, были использованы в качестве входных данных для модели. Тепловые потоки при резании были получены решением обратной задачи. Распределение температуры в резце было получено как для случая нового инструмента, так и для случая развития износа инструмента в процессе резания. Полученные распределения температур хорошо согласуются с измеренными данными. Было обнаружено, что тепловой поток через переднюю поверхность инструмента уменьшается при снижении теплопроводности материала инструмента

An EBSD study of the deformation of service-aged 316 austenitic steel

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has been used to examine the plastic deformation of an ex-service 316 austenitic stainless steel at 297K and 823K (24 °C and 550 °C)at strain rates 3.5x10-3 to 4 x 10-7 s-1. The distribution of local misorientations was found to depend on the imposed plastic strain following a lognormal distribution at true strains 0.1. At 823 K (550 °C), the distribution of misorientations depended on the applied strain rate. The evolution of lattice misorientations with increasing plastic strain up to 0.23 was quantified using the metrics kernel average misorientation, average intragrain misorientation, and low angle misorientation fraction. For strain rate down to 10-5 s-1 all metrics were insensitive to deformation temperature, mode (tension vs. compression) and orientation of the measurement plane. The strain sensitivity of the different metrics was found to depend on the misorientation ranges considered in their calculation. A simple new metric, proportion of undeformed grains, is proposed for assessing strain in both aged and unaged material. Lattice misorientations build up with strain faster in aged steel than in un-aged material and most of the metrics were sensitive to the effects of thermal aging. Ignoring aging effects leads to significant overestimation of the strains around welds. The EBSD results were compared with nanohardness measurements and good agreement established between the two techniques of assessing plastic strain in aged 316 steel

Fatigue life of machined components

A correlation between machining process and fatigue strength of machined components clearly exists. However, a complete picture of the knowledge on this is not readily available for practical applications. This study addresses this issue by investigating the effects of machining methods on fatigue life of commonly used materials, such as titanium alloys, steel, aluminium alloys and nickel alloys from previous literature. Effects of turning, milling, grinding and different non-conventional machining processes on fatigue strength of above-mentioned materials have been investigated in detail with correlated information. It is found that the effect of materials is not significant except steel in which phase change causes volume expansion, resulting in compressive/tensile residual stresses based on the amounts of white layers. It is very complex to identify the influence of surface roughness on the fatigue strength of machined components in the presence of residual stresses. The polishing process improves the surface roughness, but removes the surface layers that contain compressive residual stresses to decrease the fatigue strength of polished specimens. The compressive and tensile residual stresses improve and reduce fatigue strength, respectively. Grinding process induces tensile residual stresses on the machined surfaces due to high temperature generation. On the other hand, milling and turning processes induce compressive residual stresses. High temperature non-conventional machining generates a network of micro-cracks on the surfaces in addition to tensile residual stresses to subsequently reduce fatigue strength of machined components. Embedded grits of abrasive water jet machining degrade the fatigue performance of components machined by this method

Residual stress analysis in orthogonal machining of standard and resulfurized AISI 316L steels

Residual stresses induced by orthogonal cutting in AISI 316L standard and resulfurized steels have been investigated, with attention given to the role played by the cutting parameters, such as cutting speed, feed rate, tool geometry and tool coating. Depth profiles of residual stress have been determined using the X-ray diffraction technique. The effect of cutting conditions and tool nature on residual stresses are analyzed in association with thermal and mechanical events, recorded during the cutting tests. The tool temperature distribution has been determined by a specific CCD infrared camera technique and the cutting forces by a Kistler table set up on the lathe.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TGJ-3Y9N50W-22/1/3fcebfa43b7bc63890315bb7ab53c78