In recent years, medium- and low-volume fraction silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (SiCp/Al) have increasingly become a key material in the aerospace industry. Force prediction and material removal mechanism analysis of milling SiCp/Al are necessary to improve the surface integrity of products. An orthogonal experiment of SiCp/2009Al with a volume fraction of 20% was carried out, and the effect of the milling parameters on milling force was studied with the input parameters of milling speed, feed rate, and milling depth. Thereby, the empirical force model of milling SiCp/2009Al is established by fitting the experiential data based on the multiple linear regression analysis methods. Moreover, the effects of the milling parameters on the force were analyzed. Finally, the material removal mechanism of milling SiCp/Al is analyzed based on dislocation theory. The analyzed results reveal that the removal mechanism of the SiCp/Al composites includes plastic deformation of the aluminum matrix, cutting of particles, fragmentation, and deboning. Based on dislocation theory and maximum undeformed thickness theory, the effect of cutting parameters on the form of material removal was analyzed, which serves as a guide for selecting appropriate machining parameters to obtain improved machining quality of SiCp/Al composites.
Keywords: SiCp/Al composites; milling force; milling parameters; removal mechanism.