Cutting Simulations of Two Gear Steels with Microstructure Dependent Material Laws

Within this work, a multiscale approach is presented investigating the effect of the ferrite-pearlite microstructure after annealing on the subsequent machining process of a steel gear. The case-hardening steel 18CrNiMo7-6 and a cost efficient alternative with reduced Cr and Ni content have been studied. Based on an advanced microstructure characterization an effective Johnson-Cook hardening law is derived for both steel grades via homogenization and is used in subsequent orthogonal cutting simulations based on the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrange approach. Machinability predictions are validated by comparing with cutting experiments proving the adopted multiscale approach.