Investigation on Cutting Force, Flank Wear, and Surface Roughness in Machining of the A356-TiB2/TiC in-situ Composites

This article reveals the experimental investigation on the machinability of A356-TiB2/TiC in-situ composites prepared by a mixed salt reaction system. The fabricated composites are characterized by Energy dispersive analysis (EDAX), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro-hardness analysis. Multi-coated tungsten carbide tool was used to examine the influence of TiB2/TiC reinforcement ratio on machinability behaviour of composites. The variations in cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut upon cutting force, surface roughness and flank wear were examined. The experimental results revealed that the enhancement of a reinforcement ratio causes the decrease in cutting force and increase in flank wear and surface roughness. Higher flank wear is observed, when machining the A356-TiB2/TiC composites at higher cutting speed due to the generation of high temperature at the machining interface. The increment in surface roughness, flank wear and cutting force is experienced at higher depth of cut and feed rate. Further, the mechanisms of chip formation and surface generation under different machining parameters are addressed. The outcome of this experimental investigation helps to utilize the turning process for machining the in-situ composites at economic machining rate without compromising the surface quality.