NUMERICAL MODELING OF MECHANICAL MACHINING OF TITANIUM ALLOYS: ANALYSIS OF HEAT FIELD, SHEAR FORCES AND CUTTING TOOL WEAR

Due to their important properties such as high strength, low density, and high corrosion resistance, titanium alloys are widely used for the aerospace industry. The importance of titanium alloys is enormous, especially in the manufacture of structural elements, engine parts, and responsible parts with high loads. Besides the positive aspects of these materials, however, there are also a number of problems with their mechanical treatment. In particular, the low thermal transfer of titanium alloys leads to the accumulation of heat generated during cutting in the shear zone, which makes the machining process significantly more difficult. In this study, the mechanical machining process of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy was investigated using numerical modeling techniques. Simulations were carried out on the SimScale platform, where heat dissipation during cutting, the distribution of Von Mises voltages and the process of bending of the cutting tool were analyzed in detail. The results of the calculation showed that all the bulk of the heat generated during the cutting process is concentrated exactly in the cutting zone and does not dissipate rapidly enough throughout the material. It was also found that maximum Von Mises voltages occur in the contact region between the cutting tool and the part being machined. It has been observed that these high voltages and intense heat flux cause rapid erosion of the instrument, especially in the area of the steep edge. As a result, the service life of the cutting tool is shortened and the processing quality may deteriorate. The results of the obtained modeling have important application for the optimization of the machining process, the correct selection of cutting modes and increase the tool resource, and serve to increase the efficiency of machining titanium alloys.