A numerical study on the redistribution of residual stress after machining

Machining induced residual stresses have an important effect on the surface integrity. Effects of various factors on the distribution of residual stress profiles induced by different machining processes have been investigated by many researchers. However, the initial residual, as one of the important factor that affect the residual stress profile, is always been ignored. In this paper, the residual stress field induced by the quenching process is simulated by the FEM software as the initial condition. Then the initial residual stress field is used to study the residual stress redistribution after the machining process. The influence of initial stress on the stress formation is carried out illustrating with the mechanical and thermal loads during machining processes. The effects of cutting speed on the distribution of residual stress profile are also discussed. These results are helpful to understand how initial residual stresses are redistributed during machining better. Furthermore, the results in the numerical study can be used to explain the machining distortion problem caused by residual stress in the further work.