Research on 3D milling simulation of SiC_p/Al composite based on a phenomenological model

A three-dimension (3D) finite element (FE) end milling model with equivalent homogenous material (EHM) model, which was drawn from the quasi-static and SHPB (Split Hopkinson pressure bar) tests, has been developed by using ABAQUS/Explicit in order to describe the machining process of SiC_p/Al6063/30P composites. The model is verified by milling experiments and it is found that the predicted milling forces at different combinations of feed rate and rotation speed are consistent with those in milling experiments, and the prediction error of the peak value of F_y and F_x can be controlled within 20%. Moreover, the general shapes of the predicted chips are very similar to the experimental ones, but the application of EHM material model leading to the limitation of the simulated chip morphology such as cracks on chip contact surface and free surface caused by the existence of hard SiC particles cannot be described. Hence, further microstructure-level 3D FEM model which can reveal the interactions between particles and matrix and their effect on the chip formation mechanism of SiC_p/Al6063composites becomes very necessary.