FE/SPH modelling of orthogonal micro-machining of f.c.c. single crystal

With an increased use of mechanical micro-machining in manufacture of small-sized components with complex geometries, the need to understand mechanics of machining at micro-scale is recognized. Numerical modelling is a powerful tool which can be used to gain insight into the underlying mechanisms that drive a plastic response of materials in high-deformation processes. Excessive element distortion in a finite-element simulation is a fundamental problem in numerical modelling of machining processes. In this study, we present a hybrid modelling approach for micro-machining of crystalline metals with the use of smoothed particle hydrodynamics and continuum finite element analysis to overcome this problem. The model is implemented in a commercial software ABAQUS/Explicit using a user-defined subroutine (VUMAT). The model is used to elucidate the effect of crystallographic anisotropy on a response of face centred cubic (f.c.c.) metals to machining. Based on our study, cutting in the (100) plane is least sensitive to the cutting direction with (101) plane being the most sensitive. The maximum cutting force is observed to be on the (101) plane with the cutting tool oriented in the 0 degrees. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.