Investigation of wear mechanisms and tool life in turning of N-155 iron-nickel-base superalloy using response surface methodology

Superalloys are extensively used in various industries like aerospace, chemical and petrochemical industries due to their properties such as high strength at elevated temperature and good corrosion resistance. On the other hand, owing to these properties, superalloys are classified as difficult to cut materials. In the present work, the effect of cutting parameters on tool life in turning of N-155 iron-nickel-base superalloy is investigated. Cutting speed and feed rate each at five level were selected as cutting variables. Relationship between cutting parameters and output variable i.e. tool life was modeled by using response surface methodology (RSM). The results showed that there was a good agreement between the experimental results and the predicted values using the developed mathematical model. Additionally, analysis of variance was implemented to evaluate the adequacy of the regression model and respective variables. ANOVA results indicated that the cutting speed had more effect on tool life than feed rate. Moreover, wear mechanisms and failure modes of the cutting edges were analyzed by using the images of scanning electron microscope (SEM) at different cutting speeds and feed rates. It was observed that abrasion and adhesion were the most dominant wear mechanisms in this study. Finally, desirability function was used so as to predict optimum cutting parameters for achieving maximum tool life.