Material Testing and Chip Formation Simulation for Different Heat Treated Workpieces of 51CrV4 Steel

The heat treatment has a major impact on the mechanical properties of steel alloys and therefore on the condition of a machining processes. In this paper, the low alloy steel 51CrV4 with different heat treatments is investigated in terms of its mechanical properties under high dynamic conditions using a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) and by means of orthogonal cutting tests. The latter provide a detailed insight in the ongoing processes during chip formation by analyzing the present microstructure of the generated chips. Furthermore, the obtained data from the SHPB tests is used as an input for material models applied for the simulation of chip formation with the Finite-Element-Method. The results reveal fundamental differences in the chip formation mechanisms between the differently heat treated workpiece materials.