Thermoviscoplastic modelling of oblique cutting: forces and chip flow predictions

A modelling of oblique cutting for viscoplastic materials is presented. The thermomechanical properties and the inertia effects are accounted for to describe the material flow in the primary shear zone. At the tool–chip interface, a temperature-dependent friction law is introduced to take account of the extreme conditions of pressure, velocities and temperature encountered during machining. The chip flow angle is calculated by assuming that the friction force is collinear to the chip flow direction on the tool rake face. Due to the temperature dependence of the friction law at the tool–chip interface, the chip flow angle predicted by the model, is affected by the cutting speed, the undeformed chip thickness, the normal rake angle, the edge inclination angle and the thermomechanical behavior of the work material. This dependence and the trends predicted by the present approach are confirmed by experimental observations. Effects of cutting conditions on the cutting forces are also presented and compared to experiments.