Machinability analysis of dry and liquid nitrogen–based cryogenic cutting of Inconel 718: experimental and FE analysis

Abstract

Inconel 718 is famous for its applications in the aerospace industry due to its inherent properties of corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high creep strength, and high hot hardness. Despite the favorable properties, it has poor machinability due to low thermal conductivity and high hot hardness. To limit the influence of high cutting temperature in the cutting zone, application of cutting flood is recommended during the cutting operation. Cryogenic cooling is the recommended method when machining Inconel 718. However, there is very limited literature available when it comes to the numerical finite element modeling of the process. This current study is focused on the machinability analysis of Inconel 718 using numerical approach with experimental validations. Dry and cryogenic cooling methods were compared in terms of associated parameters such as chip compression ratio, shear angle, contact length, cutting forces, and energy consumption for the primary and secondary deformation zones. In addition, parameters related to chip morphology were also investigated under both lubrication methods. Chip formation in cryogenic machining was well captured by the finite element assisted model and found in good agreement with the experimental chip morphology. Both experimental and numerical observations revealed comparatively less chip compression ratio in the cryogenic cooling with larger value of shear plane angle. This results in the smaller tool–chip contact length and better comparative lubrication.

INCONEL® Alloy Machining and Tool Wear Finite Element Analysis Assessment: An Extended Review

“…Pervaiz et al [153] conducted a machinability analysis for INCONEL ® 718 using a numerical approach undertaken in AdvantEdge ® , substantiated by experimental validations. Dry and N 2 (l) methods were compared based on relevant parameters, including the chip compression ratio, shear angle, contact length, F c , and energy consumption (P in ) for the primary deformation zone (PDZ) and SDZ.…”

Application of cutting fluids in micro-milling — A review

“…Fig. 6 Cryogenic machining mechanism [93] MQL technique has been a contributing factor in micromachining. When cutting fluid is implemented with MQL method, delivering technique can be continuous or during cyclic pulses.…”

Influence of Cutting Tool and Drilling Process on the Machinability of Inconel 718

“…The factors affecting the machinability have mainly mechanical properties, chemical composition, heat treatment state and metallographic structure of machined materials [3]. The machinability is often evaluated by the tool life, cutting force, machining accuracy and surface quality when cutting a certain engineering material [4][5]. According to the difference of machinability, mechanical engineering materials can be roughly divided into three categories: easy-to-cutting materials, common materials and difficult-to-cutting materials.…”