Quantification of flank and crater wear in turning of AA7075/SiC composite

ABSTRACT

The machining of Al alloy/SiC composites is still a challenge, because the hardness of SiC particles is approximately 2700HV, which is much higher than the hardness of most tool materials. Therefore, the tool wears out quickly. This reduces the tool life and increases the surface roughness of the components of the Al alloy/SiC composites. Hence, there is an urgent need to investigate the influence of SiC particles on tool wear during the turning of 7075Al alloy composites and quantification of flank and crater wear in turning of AA7075/SiC Composite. The experimental tests for turning AA7075/15 wt.% (20-40µm) SiC composite, using coated tungsten carbide tools were conducted. Efforts were made to determine how the cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, and nose radius affect the flank and crater wear of carbide inserts, while turning AA7075/15 wt. % SiC. The effect of the AA7075/15 wt. % SiC composite elements, on tool wear were found out. SiC particles may be removed from the AA7075 matrix, or they may remain in matrix, during machining. If the SiC particles are removed, the tool will not be damaged. If SiC particles remained in the matrix, they scratched the tool flank. This results in excessive tool-flank wear. The results showed that flank and crater wear increased sharply with increasing of depth of cut. SiC was the main element responsible for the wear of the inserts. The novelty of this work is that, so far, little research has been conducted on the influence of elements present in AA7075 Al alloy/SiC composite on the wear of carbide inserts. In this work, investigations were conducted on the effects of elements in AA7075/15 wt. % SiC composite on wear of carbide inserts while machining of AA7075/SiC composites. Measures to minimize tool wear have also been reported. Wear of inserts due to presence of SiC particles in AA7075/15 wt. % SiC composite has been considerably reduced by using carbide inserts coated with titanium nitride (TiN).

KEYWORDS:

• AA7075
• silicon carbide
• flank wear
• crater wear
• turning
• titanium nitride

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2374068X.2022.2119713.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this research work.