Laser-assisted ultrasonic elliptical vibration turning of high-volume fraction SiCp/Al force-thermal research

• The SiC polygonal particle random distribution simulation model is established through secondary development of ABAQUS software. • A cutting force model is developed, taking into account the combined effects of tool temperature and SiC particles. • The thermo-mechanical behavior under different machining processes is investigated through a combined approach of simulation and experimentation. This paper adopts the different machining approach, and utilizes ABAQUS software to perform finite element simulations of cutting based on the laser-assisted ultrasonic elliptical vibration turning (LA-UEVT), common turning (CT), and laser-assisted turning (LAT). The cutting mechanism is methodically analyzed through examining the simulated cutting process of the LA-UEVT, and the cutting force model with the joint effect of the composite tool temperature and the SiC reinforced phase is then established. In continuing, the influence law of the force-temperature characteristics in the presence of various machining conditions is investigated. The obtained results reveal that the cutting force of the LA-UEVT is reduced by about 21.45% and 13.9% compared to the CT-based and LAT-based approaches, respectively, and the temperature field exhibits a reduction of 31% compared with the LAT-based approach. Additionally, the maximum relative error between the finite element simulation results and the experimental results is obtained as 13.33%. Meanwhile, the LA-UEVT-based approach is capable of effectively improving the surface quality of the workpiece. This study provides guidance for subsequent research on the thermo-mechanical variation mechanisms during the machining of SiCp/Al composites.