Modeling and analysis of tool wear mechanisms in diamond turning of copper beryllium alloy

The interaction of hard Be particles in CuBe alloy with cutting tool, during diamond turning of CuBe contributes significantly to the tool wear. However, the mechanism of this interaction and its effect on tool wear have not been explored adequately thus far. Therefore, to understand the role of Be particles, diamond turning (facing) experiments were performed on Cu as well as CuBe alloys. The flank wear was assessed by SEM and Raman spectroscopy, the machined surfaces on the other hand, were assessed by EDS. MD simulations were also carried out to support the experimental findings. The experimental and simulation results show that the amorphization of diamond is the dominant tool wear mechanism, which indicates the transformation of sp3 phase of diamond structure while machining of CuBe. EDS analysis reveals that there are 15–20 % C atoms present on the location of hard particles on the machined surface which signifies that the Be particles are mainly responsible for tool wear. Forces recorded by dynamometer during cutting show that thrust forces are approximately one order higher for CuBe as compared to that of Cu. Furthermore, MDS results reveal that the principal cause of phase transformation in the diamond tool is high atomic stress in conjunction with the occurrence of high interface temperature.