Challenges in machining of advanced materials

Abstract

Contemporary ways of employing and combining existing materials are a requisite for meeting tomorrow’s engineering applications. This is upscaled by the potent attributes of remaining competitive by keeping costs effective while advancing the fabrication of new material technologies. Thus, moderation of the tool condition and machining process, for example, is becoming successively critical to achieving more eminent yields, exceptional machine automation, better product quality, and reduced labor-intensive costs. Owing to the intricate nature of advanced materials, such as ceramic matrix composites, their brittle and heterogeneous structure and their anisotropic mechanical and thermal behavior render a variety of material removal mechanisms that result in surface defects. Therefore, this chapter’s objective is to focally evaluate how dissimilar machining techniques influence the machined surfaces of advanced materials. Furthermore, the study aims to pioneer the fundamental technologies and trendsetting development for machining process monitoring, namely, contemporary industrial practice inclusive of general workpiece surface integrity parameters, fluid consignment systems, wheel preparation options, and machine tool design/alignments. Similarly, academic research on the conventional and nonconventional machinability of advanced materials in the aerospace industry is deeply investigated. This is achieved by assessing new, various material characterization methods to identify and quantify the mechanical and thermal surface/subsurface damages and highlight their governing removal/grinding-process mechanisms.