Experimental study on chip deformation of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy in cryogenic cutting

This paper first develops a cryogenic cutting system with adjustable jet temperature (− 196~20 °C), and then carries out a series of dry cutting and cryogenic turning experiments for titanium alloy. Metallographic microscope is used to observe the chip morphology of titanium alloy and the geometric characteristic parameters of the chip are measured using a Digimizer image measurement software. The influence of cutting speed and cooling conditions on the chip morphology, chip height ratio, and serrated pitch has been analyzed. The experimental results reveal that the cutting speed and cooling conditions play significant roles on the chip morphology and serrated characteristics of titanium alloy. During the cryogenic cutting process, with the increase of cutting speed, the chip height ratio and serrated pitch of titanium alloy chip increase. It has been found that under the condition of cryogenic cutting, the lower jet temperature, the more obvious serrated characteristic of titanium alloy chip. It is also found that the fibrous adiabatic shear band exists in the shear zone; the chip height ratio and serrated pitch remarkably increase.