The effect of depth of cut on the Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation of multi-pass nanometric machining

The effect of depth of cut on multi-pass nanometric machining of copper workpiece with diamond tool was studied using the Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation. The copper-copper interactions were modelled by the EAM potential and the copper-diamond interactions were modelled by the Morse potential. The diamond tool was modelled as a deformable body and the Tersoff potential was applied for the carbon-carbon interactions. It was observed that the average tangential and normal components of the cutting forces increase with increase in depth of cut and they reduced in consecutive cutting passes for each depth of cut. Also, the ratio of the tangential to normal force components decreases as the depth of cut increases, but remains fairly constant after 1.5nm depth of cut. The ratio of the cutting force to area decreases with increase in the depth of cut and remains constant after 2.5nm depth of cut.