Numerical and experimental investigation of cutting forces in turning of Nimonic 80A superalloy

Abstract

The study presents the machinability of Nimonic 80A superalloys depending on the cutting forces in both the turning experiments and simulations by finite element method (FEM) in order to approve the precision of the predetermined Johnson-Cook (JC) parameters from our previous study. In the first part of the paper, the turning experiments have been performed on Nimonic 80A superalloy with coated carbide tools to determine the cutting forces namely main cutting force, feed force and radial force. Three different cutting parameters namely depth of cut, cutting speed and feed rate have been used with three levels. The effect levels of the cutting parameters on cutting forces have been also determined with the analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence level. Secondly, predetermined JC material model parameters have been inputted into the software running by FEM. Thereafter, the turning simulations have been performed by FEM with the same cutting conditions as experimental ones. According to ANOVA results, depth of cut is the most important parameter on Fc and Ff while feed rate is the most important factor on the Fr. Through the closer results (the mean of 6.45% deviation) of cutting forces between the experiments and simulations, the JC parameters of the material and the boundary conditions of the simulations have been approved with high accuracy.

Keywords

• Nimonic 80A
• Johnson-Cook Parameters
• Turning
• Simulation
• Finite Element Metho