Mechanism and Deformation Behavior of Elliptical Vibration-Assisted Cutting of FeNiCrCoAl High Entropy Alloy

The mechanical response of FeNiCrCoAl high entropy alloy (HEA) under conventional cutting and ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted cutting (UEVAC) was investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) methods. The effects of vibration period, axial amplitude, and normal amplitude on the material removal mechanism were studied. The results show that the average cutting temperature of the workpiece under UEVAC is significantly higher than that under conventional cutting. The high-temperature distribution area under UEVAC presents an intermittent distribution pattern, which not only facilitates the cutting process but also plays a positive role in the protection of the tool. Furthermore, as the vibration period shortens, both the average principal stress experienced by the workpiece and the triaxial cutting force decrease, while the height and quantity of chip atoms significantly increase. When the vibration period is shortened to 5ns, the number of chip atoms is about twice that of conventional cutting, which is equivalent to doubling the removal efficiency of the material. Although an increase in axial amplitude causes an increase in the average temperature of the workpiece, it also results in larger negative principal stress. When the axial amplitude A increases to 20Å, the peak value of the negative principal stress generated inside the base material exceeds 8000GPa, and the triaxial cutting force tends to increase, without a significant increase in the number of chip atoms. With the increase in normal amplitude B, the average cutting temperature of the matrix also increases. But there is no significant change in the direction and magnitude of the principal stress, and the triaxial cutting force continuously increases. This study provides a theoretical basis for achieving high surface quality of HEAs.