Effect of Potential Function on Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Copper Processing

Abstract

In nanometric cutting process, the actual material removal can take place at atomic level, which makes it difficult or impossible to observe the machining phenomena and measure the cutting parameters in experiments. However, it is crucial to investigate the cutting process in nanoscale. In this study, the molecular dynamics (MD) method is employed to model and simulate the process of cutting monocrystalline copper. The two-body Morse potential and the many-body EAM potential are used for the atoms interaction in the workpiece to study the effect of different potential function on the simulation results. It is found that there are no obvious differences in the chip formation between Morse and EAM potential, but the Morse potential results in higher potential energy and more chips generated in the cutting process.