Effect of Laser Power on Nanocutting Mechanism of Silicon Carbide Ceramic: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Abstract Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic is being increasingly applied in several engineering fields owing to its excellent saturation electron drift rate. Although much attention is paid to its material removal mechanism, producing a high‐quality SiC surface with a high material removal rate is still a challenging issue. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the material removal mechanism of SiC to improve the processing performance. In this study, the laser heating‐assisted nanocutting models are established using a molecular dynamics method. Then, a laser beam with various energies is irradiated onto the SiC. The influence of average laser power on the nanocutting mechanism of SiC is revealed in terms of the temperature of the machined region, cutting force, stress distribution state, subsurface damage, and tool wear. The results demonstrate that within the scope of this study, the using of laser irradiation methods has a positive effect on the machinability of SiC at the nanoscale, provided that the laser power density does not exceed the ablation threshold. Meanwhile, the results indicate that laser heating‐assisted methods have played an important role in suppressing tool wear. This study has significant theoretical and practical value in processing technology.