Investigation on micro-cutting and chip formation mechanism of CoCrFeNiAl_X series high-entropy alloy

This study delves into the critical chip formation mechanisms of CoCrFeNiAl_X series high-entropy alloys, examining the impact of tool parameters, cutting speed, and aluminum (Al) element content. The investigation focuses on three alloy compositions: CoCrFeNi (referred to as Al₀), CoCrFeNiAl_0.6 (referred to as Al_0.6), and CoCrFeNiAl (referred to as Al₁). Employing ABAQUS, the research explores the effects of tool rake and rear angles, cutting edge radius, cutting speed, and Al content on complete chip formation, cutting force, cutting temperature, and Mises stress of CoCrFeNiAl_X high-entropy alloy. The findings reveal that a tool rake angle of 2° allows for a minimum cutting depth of 5 µm, while rake angles of 6° and 10° necessitate a minimum cutting depth of at least 6 µm for successful cutting. The tool’s rear angle exhibits a negative correlation with the minimum ideal cutting thickness of the workpiece. For instance, with a tool rear angle of 2°, the minimum ideal cutting thickness is 8 µm, 1.35 times that of rake angles of 6° and 10°. Moreover, cutting force demonstrates a positive correlation with the cutting edge radius. Specifically, when the tool’s rake and rear angles are both 6°, and the cutting edge radius is 3 µm, the cutting temperature rises with increasing cutting speed, reaching up to 71.2 °C. This indicates that high-speed cutting fosters the formation of complete chips. Comparative analysis of the cutting results for Al₀, Al_0.6, and Al₁ using the same tool reveals that, with the augmentation of aluminum content, the minimum ideal cutting thickness increases under all tool angles except when the rear angle is 2°. Furthermore, when the cutting edge radius is 1 µm, Al_0.6 attains a minimum ideal cutting thickness of 4 µm.