Experimental and analytical combined thermal approach for local tribological understanding in metal cutting

• A thermal analytical model is proposed for orthogonal cutting process.
• IR thermography is used during cutting tests.
• Combined experimental and modeling approaches are applied.
• Heat flux and stress distribution at the tool-chip interface are determined.
• The decomposition into sticking and sliding zones is defined.

Metal cutting is a highly complex thermo-mechanical process. The knowledge of temperature in the chip forming zone is essential to understand it. Conventional experimental methods such as thermocouples only provide global information which is incompatible with the high stress and temperature gradients met in the chip forming zone. Field measurements are essential to understand the localized thermo-mechanical problem. An experimental protocol has been developed using advanced infrared imaging in order to measure temperature distribution in both the tool and the chip during an orthogonal or oblique cutting operation. It also provides several information on the chip formation process such as some geometrical characteristics (tool-chip contact length, chip thickness, primary shear angle) and thermo-mechanical information (heat flux dissipated in deformation zone, local interface heat partition ratio). A study is carried out on the effects of cutting conditions i.e. cutting speed, feed and depth of cut on the temperature distribution along the contact zone for an elementary operation. An analytical thermal model has been developed to process experimental data and access more information i.e. local stress or heat flux distribution.