A study on cutting force of machining in situ TiB₂ particle-reinforced 7050Al alloy matrix composites

In situ TiB₂ particle-reinforced 7050Al alloy matrix composites are a new category of particulate metal matrix composites with improved mechanical and physical properties. At present, the study of machining in situ TiB₂/Al composite is limited and no specific study has been presented on cutting force. Based on previous work, experimental investigation of cutting in situ TiB₂/Al composite was carried out in this study to investigate the cutting force, shear angle, mean friction angle, and shear stress. The results indicated that the feed rate, instead of cutting speed, has a significant influence on the shear angle, mean friction angle, shear stress, and forces, which is different from cutting ex situ SiC/Al composites. Meanwhile, based on Merchant’s theory, a force model, which consists of chip formation and ploughing force, was established to have a better understanding of force generation. A comparison of the results show an acceptable agreement between the force model and experiments. Additionally, at varying feed rates, the linear relationship between the shear angle and mean friction angle is still suitable for cutting in situ TiB₂/7050Al alloy composites.