FEM-based prediction of heat partition in dry metal cutting of AISI 1045

Thermal effects often limit the performance of cutting processes. The energy spent in cutting is almost completely converted into heat which partly flows to workpiece, chip, and tool during the process. Therefore, knowledge about this partition is valuable for the process, tool, and coolant system design or for the compensation of thermal deformations of the workpiece and machine tool. For this reason, a simulation model based on the finite element method was developed to analyze the heat partition in dry metal cutting. The model utilizes the coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian method to simulate the chip formation in orthogonal cutting and to calculate the temperature distribution within workpiece, chip, and tool. This distribution was used to compute the heat partition between workpiece, chip, and tool in dependence of relevant process parameters. Furthermore, the results were validated by orthogonal cutting experiments and summarized in a formula to calculate the rate of heat flow into the workpiece as a function of those parameters.