Wear mechanisms and residual stresses in alumina-based laminated cutting tools
Abstract The outstanding performances of the Al2O3 cutting tools in terms of potential cutting speed can lead to substantial economies in the machining of metallic materials. Nevertheless, their widespread use is limited by some drawbacks such as the tendency to edge chipping and to the propagation of microcracks, which can lead to premature failures. These shortcomings are due to the intrinsic low toughness of the ceramic material, which is in turn related to its characteristics non-metallic bonds. A well-recognised method of increasing the toughness of brittle materials is the introduction of surface compressive stresses, which can be obtained through a suitable lamination geometry of the…
A Raman spectroscopy study of the oxidation processes in synthetic chromite FeCr2O4
Abstract A crystal of synthetic chromite FeCr2O4 has been annealed in air at 700 °C for 50 days at room pressure in order to study physical-chemical changes. After the annealing treatment, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the polished surface of the sample showed areas of different composition. Detailed Raman mapping revealed that the annealed chromite undergoes an oxidation process, proceeding inwards from the outer surface and leading to the transformation of chromite to magnetite, and ultimately to hematite. The oxidation process also leads to the formation of trellis-like lines, arguably via stress-related mechanisms associated with the phase transformation and consequent vo…
The effect of wear on the tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation and the residual stress distribution in zirconia-toughened alumina cutting tools
Abstract Zirconia-toughened alumina cutting tools have been examined after machining an AISI 1040 steel. The Raman spectrum of zirconia and the fluorescence spectrum from alumina have been used to determine the extent of the tetragonal-to-monoclinic (t-m) transformation and the residual stresses in and around the worn-out crater, respectively. Although about 15% vol. m-zirconia is present even in a brand new cutting tool, it was shown that the crater region undergoes the t-m transformation up to 40% vol. In both cases, the transformed zone is concentrated near the surface. The residual stresses in alumina are slightly compressive in the new cutting tool and away from the crater region, but …