Finite Element Modelling and Simulating of Drilling of Titanium Alloy

Due to the material deformation process in drilling are quite complicated, research using finite element simulation on drilling is limited and not widely reported. To investigate drilling process, a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model of drilling is developed. Several key technologies, such as material constitutive model, material failure law, contact and friction law, have been implemented to improve the accuracy of finite element simulation. Using this finite element model, drilling process of Ti6Al4V alloy is predicted. Comparing the predicted cutting forces with the measured forces shows the finite element model is reasonable. Analyses show that the distributions of Misses stress and temperature during drilling process all increase at first, and get maximal value when drilling is in steady state, then decrease gradually till the hole is drilled through. These results confirm the capability of finite element simulation in predicting drilling process and selecting optimal tool and cutting parameters.