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Environment effects in plasticity and fracture of metals, well studied for several decades, still pose many unanswered questions. A micro-mechanics explanation of how dislocation activity is influenced by the material surface state, that can answer these questions, has been elusive. We build on a recently discovered effect in metal cutting – organic monolayer embrittlement (OME) – wherein metal surfaces are rendered brittle by long-chain organic adsorbates, to explore how material state variables influence surface plasticity and fracture. In particular, cutting experiments with Al containing Self Assembled Monolayers (SAMs), show that the OME is controlled by surface stress (f) induced by the adsorbates. This is contrary to many instances of environment-assisted fracture which are usually attributed to surface energy changes, and wherein f is largely ignored. Other contributions include (a) a cantilever technique to measure surface stress, (b) demonstration of strong effect of SAM molecule chain length on f, (c) characterization of how dislocation activity at crack-tips is affected by adsorbate-induced f, and (d) large improvements in machining processes enabled by controlled environment-assisted fracture. We make the case that surface stress, due to adsorbates, likely influences all environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) phenomena, warranting a revisit of extant models of EAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of fracture mechanics is usually within the paradigm of a failure mode that needs to be avoided. However, both in nature and in modern technology, there exist several situations where an ability to fracture is essential. In this work, we consider the problem of machining highly ductile and strain-hardening metals, such as annealed Cu, Al and Ta. These metals are known by the moniker "gummy metals" due to the large forces and poor surface finish associated with machining them. We investigate a chemo-mechanical technique involving adsorption of organic monolayers on the metal surfaces that causes the metals to become relatively brittle. This transition from ductile to brittle results in > 50% drop in the cutting force and an order of magnitude improvement in the surface finish. Molecular dynamics simulations of the phenomenon show the organic monolayers impose a surface stress on the metal surface which results in arresting of the dislocations close to the surface. The results suggest that a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanism has implications in environment-assisted cracking, stress-corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize primary (shape-change) and secondary (friction) deformation, and associated temperature fields, in metal cutting and forming processes, using in situ imaging and simulation. The experimental configurations enable access to the deformation zones and die contact interfaces, for measuring deformation, temperature, and frictional drag. Infrared thermography reveals that the plastic strain-rate field is an excellent proxy for the deformation-induced heat sources. Both spatially confined and diffuse strain-rate fields occur, depending on the initial workpiece deformation state. When the strain rate is confined, as in prehardened material, the temperature modeling is greatly simplified, as the heat source is also now localized. However complex, microstructure-driven deformation modes, such as sinuous flow in annealed metals, result in spatially diffuse strain-rate and body heat sources that are more challenging to analyze. Our unified measurements should be of value for accurately estimating the fraction of plastic dissipation that is converted into heat in large-strain deformation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A macroscopic ductile-to-brittle transition in chip formation with ductile gummy metals, arising from 3.5 to 100 nm thick organic films on the workpiece surface, is demonstrated. The principal characteristics of the phenomenon, with annealed aluminum, are change in the flow mode from one dominated by large-strain plasticity to one controlled by fracture; and up to 70% reduction in cutting force. This embrittlement has important benefits for machined surface quality – nearly an order of magnitude reduction in roughness, > 50% reduction in residual plastic strain, and smaller hardness change. Implications of the phenomenon for material removal processes and beyond are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine segmented chip formation and associated flow dynamics in cutting of metals of low-to-moderate workability using high-speed imaging. Segmentation is initiated by a surface instability – formation of a ductile crack in a prow – on workpiece surface ahead of the tool, this crack then propagates towards the tool tip. Prow-crack initiation occurs at a critical strain ˜0.75 that is independent of material and deformation geometry. This ductile failure is analyzed in terms of local hydrostatic stress state and stress triaxiality. Material-agnostic methods to suppress and enhance segmentation using constrained cutting and a mechanochemical effect are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cutting of metals has long been described as occurring by laminar plastic flow. Here we show that for metals with large strain-hardening capacity, laminar flow mode is unstable and cutting instead occurs by plastic buckling of a thin surface layer. High speed in situ imaging confirms that the buckling results in a small bump on the surface which then evolves into a fold of large amplitude by rotation and stretching. The repeated occurrence of buckling and folding manifests itself at the mesoscopic scale as a new flow mode with significant vortex-like components--sinuous flow. The bucklingmodel is validated by phenomenological observations of flow at the continuum level and microstructural characteristics of grain deformation and measurements of the folding. In addition to predicting the conditions for surface buckling, the model suggests various geometric flow control strategies that can be effectively implemented to promote laminar flow, and suppress sinuous flow in cutting, with implications for industrial manufacturing processes. The observations impinge on the foundations of metal cutting by pointing to the key role of stability of laminar flow in determining the mechanism of material removal, and the need to reexamine long-held notions of large strain deformation at surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine large-strain deformation and unsteady flow modes in cutting using high-speed imaging. For metals which exhibit large workability and strain hardening, the commonly assumed laminar flow is inherently unstable. Instead, the cutting is characterized by sinuous flow, with large-amplitude folding, that is triggered by a plastic buckling instability linked to the material microstructure. A microstructure basis is also suggested for shear band flow in high-speed cutting, with the band region showing a fluid-like characteristic with very small viscosity. Mechanochemical Rehbinder effects, long reported in cutting of metals, are found to be closely linked to the unsteady flow modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation field, material flow, and mechanics of chip separation in cutting of metals with superimposed low-frequency modulation (

Annealed metals are surprisingly difficult to cut, involving high forces and an unusually thick "chip." This anomaly has long been explained, based on ex situ observations, using a model of smooth plastic flow with uniform shear to describe material removal by chip formation. Here we show that this phenomenon is actually the result of a fundamentally different collective deformation mode--sinuous flow. Using in situ imaging, we find that chip formation occurs via large-amplitude folding, triggered by surface undulations of a characteristic size. The resulting fold patterns resemble those observed in geophysics and complex fluids. Our observations establish sinuous flow as another mesoscopic deformation mode, alongside mechanisms such as kinking and shear banding. Additionally, by suppressing the triggering surface undulations, sinuous flow can be eliminated, resulting in a drastic reduction of cutting forces. We demonstrate this suppression quite simply by the application of common marking ink on the free surface of the workpiece material before the cutting. Alternatively, prehardening a thin surface layer of the workpiece material shows similar results. Besides obvious implications to industrialmachining and surface generation processes, our results also help unify a number of disparate observations in the cutting of metals, including the so-called Rehbinder effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow dynamics, deformation fields and chipparticle formation in cutting and sliding of metals are analysed, in situ, using high-speed imaging and particle image velocimetry. The model system is a brass workpiece loaded against a wedge indenter at low speeds. At large negative rake angles, the flow is steady with a prow of material forming ahead of the indenter. There is no material removal and a uniformly strained layer develops on the workpiece surface--the pure sliding regime. When the rake angle is less negative, the flow becomes unsteady, triggered by formation of a crack on the prow free surface and material removal ensuing--the cutting regime. The strain on the prow surface at crack initiation is found to be constant. Chip morphologies, such as discrete particle, segmented chip and continuous chip with mesoscale roughness, are shown to arise from a universal mechanism involving propagation of the prow crack, but to different distances towards the indenter tip. The simple shear deformation in continuous chip formation shows small-angle oscillations also linked to the prow crack. Implications for material removal processes and ductile failure are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large strain plastic flow in cutting of metals is studied at multiple length scales using high-speed imaging and marker techniques, complemented by particle image velocimetry and electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis of streak-lines, strain fields and microstructure, shows the flow to be often unsteady. Instabilities such as segmentation driven by ductile fracture, vortex-like flow in ductile metals, and shear banding in low-thermal diffusivity systems are elucidated using direct observations. A constrained-cutting process is demonstrated for suppressing the instabilities and unsteady flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly strain-hardening metals such as Al, Ni, and stainless steels, although relatively soft, are well known as being difficult to cut, because of an unsteady and highly redundant mode of plastic deformation—sinuous flow—prevailing during chip formation. This difficulty in cutting is greatly ameliorated, if the workpiece surface ahead of the chip formation region is coated with certain chemical media such as glues, inks, and alcohols that are quite benign. High-speed imaging shows that the media effect a change in the local plastic deformation mode, from sinuous flow to one characterized by periodic fracture—segmented flow. This flow transition, due to a mechanochemical effect, results in significant reduction of deformation forces and energy, often > 50%, thus facilitating the cutting. The effect is mostly pronounced at smaller undeformed chip thickness, typical of finish and semi-finish machining regimes. The quality of the cut surface, as measured by defect density and surface roughness, improves by an order of magnitude, when the media are applied. Furthermore, this surface is relatively strain free in contrast to conventionally machined surfaces. The mechanochemical effect, with a strong coupling to the flow mode, is controllable, with the media showing similar efficacy across different metal systems. The results suggest opportunities for improving performance of machining processes for many difficult-to-cut gummy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanics of large-strain deformation in cutting of metals is discussed, primarily from viewpoint of recent developments in in situ analysis of plastic flow and microstructure characterization. It is shown that a broad range of deformation parameters can be accessed in chip formation--strains of 1-10, strain rates of 10-105/s, and temperatures up to 0.7Tm--and controlled. This range is far wider than achievable by any other single-stage, severe plastic deformation (SPD) process. The resulting extreme deformation conditions produce a rich variety of microstructures in the chip. Four principal types of chip formation--continuous, shear-localized, segmented, and mushroom-type--as elucidated first by Nakayama (1974, "The Formation of 'Saw-Toothed Chip' in Metal Cutting," Proceedings of International Conference on Production Engineering, Tokyo, pp. 572-577) are utilized to emphasize the diverse plastic flow phenomena, especially unsteady deformation modes that prevail in cutting. These chip types are intimately connected with the underlying flow, each arising from a distinct mode and triggered by an instability phenomenon. The role of plastic flow instabilities such as shear banding, buckling, and fracture in mediating unsteady flow modes is expounded, along with consequences of the flow modes and chip types for the cutting. Sinuous flow is shown to be the reason why gummy (highly strain-hardening) metals, although relatively soft, are so difficult to cut. Synthesizing the various observations, a hypothesis is put forth that it is the stability of flow modes that determines the mechanics of cutting. This leads to a flow-stability phase diagram that could provide a framework for predicting chip types and process attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine a, hitherto, little-studied and curious machining chip morphology, with tell-tale signs of folding at two different length scales, that is common in cutting of certain ductile and highly strain-hardening metals like soft aluminum alloys, tantalum and niobium. This chip morphology does not appear in the usual catalogues of common chip types. The mechanics of formation of the "dual-scale folded chip" is studied in model material systems of commercially pure aluminum alloys (AA 1100 and AA 8040), that prominently exhibit this chip morphology. The flow, folding and associated plastic instabilities are investigated using micro/macro structure observations of the chip in a plane-strain cutting framework, with high-speed in situ imaging and image analysis of material flow; and force measurements. The smaller-scale folding is shown to develop in the primary deformation zone while the larger-scale folding occurs as the chip traverses the rake face of the tool. The resulting chip is composed of irregularly-spaced large folds, superimposed onto which are the quasi-periodic small folds. The representative wavelengths of the two folds differ on average by an order of magnitude, 0.1 mm vs. 2 mm. The observations reveal a direct coupling between the material flow and chip morphology, and how specific attributes of the dual-scale folded chip arise from the flow mechanism. Plastic buckling is found to play a key role in the folding at both length scales. The small-scale folds are characteristic of a sinuous plastic flow mode, while the large-scale folding is characterized by buckling and stick-slip along the tool rake face, triggered by adhesive pinning of the chip to the tool. Important consequences of the dual-scale folding are very large cutting forces, and force oscillations of large amplitude, despite the alloys being very soft, only ∼25 HV. The dual-scale folding is why many of these alloys are classified as "gummy" to machine. Since the dual-scale folded chip is associated with large cutting forces and poor surface quality, there is much to be gained by disrupting this flow type in practical machining applications. Methods for controlling the folding to improve machining performance with the gummy alloys are briefly discussed. [Display omitted] • Dual-scale folding in machined chips has one-to-one correlation with flow mode and plastic instabilities. • Both fold types are triggered by Plastic buckling instability. • Small-scale folds are formed in the primary deformation zone. • Large-scale folds are formed along the rake face of the tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Characteristics of the deformation fields associated with chip formation in plane strain machining are described. The ability to impose very large strain deformation in a controlled manner is highlighted. The creation of nano- and ultra-fine grained structures by machining is demonstrated in a variety of metals and alloys. These results indicate that machining not only offers a simple method for large scale manufacturing of nanostructured materials, but also provides a unique experimental configuration for studying large strain deformation phenomena. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]