Simulation of Edge Chipping in Laser-Assisted Milling of Silicon Nitride Ceramics Using the XEFM

Abstract

Theoretical, experimental and simulation researches are investigated to study the phenomenon of edge chipping in laser assisted milling (LAML) of silicon nitride ceramics. To consider the crack evolution and influencing factors of edge chipping, the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is used to model the process of chipping crack with the advantage of independent of the mesh and needless to remesh with the crack growth. The chipping width measured from experiments are loaded as initial boundary conditions to build the XFEM model, and the results show the edge chipping reduces with cutting forces decreasing and edge toughness increasing. The model reveals the edge chipping of workpiece reduces at elevated temperature through softening and toughening mechanisms.