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The reliability and accuracy of finite element models of metal machining are heavily reliant on the underlying material flow stress models. The aim of this study is to characterize the relation between the flow stress models and the chip morphology to provide a deeper insight into the process of serrated chip formation. Firstly, in the context of a flow stress model, the critical conditions for generation of the serrated chips are theoretically analyzed. Then, simulations are performed using two different constitutive models with five parameters sets, and the results are discussed in relation to how they verify the theoretical results. In order to better understand the process of serrated chip formation, attention is concentrated on the critical steps characterizing the formation of a single chip segment. The cutting process parameters (stress, strain, and temperature) are discussed. In addition, the mechanism by which the chip morphology transforms from continuous to serrated with increasing cutting speed is investigated in terms of the variation of flow stress curves. The results show that the slope of decrease and the strain value at the peak point of flow stress curves both greatly affect chip morphology. That is, the slope of decrease of the flow stress curve largely controls the formation of serrated chips, while the strain point at the peak determines the frequency and degree of serration of chips. It is found that simulations by manipulating well the flow stress models can produce results for chip morphology, cutting forces, etc. that are closer to those obtained experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the simulation results for the unsteady cavitating turbulent flow in a Francis turbine using the mixture model for cavity-liquid two-phase flows. The RNG k- ε turbulence model is employed in the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations in this study. In the mixture model, an improved expression for the mass transfer is employed which is based on evaporation and condensation mechanisms with considering the effects of the non-dissolved gas, the turbulence, the tension of interface at cavity and the effect of phase change rate and so on. The computing domain includes the guide vanes, the runner, and the draft tube, which is discretized with a full three-dimensional mesh system of unstructured tetrahedral shapes. The finite volume method is used to solve the governing equations of the mixture model and a full coupled method is combined into the algorithm to accelerate the solution. The computing results with the mixture model have been compared with those by the single-phase flow model as well as the experimental data. The simulation results show that the cavitating flow computation based on the improved mixture model agrees much better with experimental data than that by the single-phase flow calculation, in terms of the amplitude and dominated frequency of the pressure fluctuation. It is also observed from the present simulations that the amplitude of the pressure fluctuation at small flow rate is larger than that at large flow rate, which accords with the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]