An experimental and numerical study of tool geometry effect on microfracture characteristics in micro/nano machining of brittle porous structure

Porous materials are a special class of engineering materials which have received increasing interest for technical and medicinal applications within the last decade. However, one of the main challenges in the cutting of porous structure is the microfractures occurred around pores having a profound impact on the final surface quality. In this study, the effect of tool geometry on the magnitude of microfractures around pores of porous silicon has been investigated. The results reveal that as rake angle decreases, microfractures around pore edges increase influencing the cutting pressure. The calculated pressure in the contact area shows a decrease as the rake angle decreases. Increase in microfractures can be explained based on a large tensile stress area formed beneath the tool cutting edge as tool tip feeds toward pore. The simulation results agree well with the experimental results. The findings also reveal that by choosing the optimal tool rake angle in the cutting process, a nanometric surface flatness (25 nanometer) can be achieved on porous silicon.n.