Modeling and investigation of cutting force for SiCp/Al composites during ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning

Abstract

The machining process of SiCp/Al composites is considerably difficult because of the addition of ceramic particles. As an effective machining method, ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning is used to process SiCp/Al composites, which can effectively reduce the cutting force, improve the surface quality, and reduce the tool wear. This study developed a cutting force prediction model for ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning of SiCp/Al composites, which comprehensively considers the instantaneous depth of cut and the instantaneous shear angle. This model divides the cutting force into the chip formation force considering the instantaneous depth of cut, the friction force considering the influence of SiC particles at tool-chip interface, the particle fracture force, and the ultrasonic impact force in the cutting depth direction. By comparing the predicted value of the main cutting force with the experimental values, the results present the same trend, which verifies the feasibility of the cutting force prediction model. In addition, the influence of vibration amplitude, depth of cut, and cutting speed on the main cutting force is analyzed. The systematic cutting experiments show that ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning can significantly reduce the cutting force and improve the machinability of SiCp/Al composites.