Predicting the High Speed Cutting Process of Titanium Alloy by Finite Element Method

To predict the cutting forces and cutting temperatures accurately in high speed dry cutting Ti-6Al-4V alloy, a Finite Element (FE) model is established based on ABAQUS. The tool-chip-work friction coefficients are calculated analytically using the measured cutting forces and chip morphology parameter obtained by conducting the orthogonal (2-D) machining tests. It reveals that the friction coefficients between tool-work are 3∼7 times larger than that between tool-chip, and the friction coefficients of tool-chip-work vary with feed rates. The analysis provides a better reference for the tool-work-chip friction coefficients than that given by literature empirically regardless of machining conditions. The FE model is capable of effectively simulating the high speed dry cutting process of Ti-6Al-4V alloy based on the modified Johnson-Cook model and tool-work-chip friction coefficients obtained analytically. The FE model is further validated in terms of predicted forces and the chip morphology. The predicted cutting force, thrust force and resultant force by the FE model agree well with the experimentally measured forces. The errors in terms of the predicted average value of chip pitch and the distance between chip valley and chip peak are smaller. The FE model further predicts the cutting temperature and residual stresses during high speed dry cutting of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The maximum tool temperatures exist along the round tool edge, and the residual stress profiles along the machined surface are hook-shaped regardless of machining conditions.