Micro-grooving studies on alumina ceramic material

Sintered alumina (99.8%) was subjected to grooving at different conditions using a diamond indenter. The process parameters considered for the study are normal load, inclination angle of the indenter and grooving speed of the grooving. The parametric influence on the grooving process indicators such as groove geometry, horizontal cutting force, specific cutting energy and size of the plastic zone were studied. Ceramics are prone to median and lateral cracking during sliding indentation, and hence it is meant to evaluate the conditions facilitating ductile mode of grooving. It was found that at some conditions controlled grooving has taken place with ductile mode of material removal. Fine grooving occurred at a normal load of 10N, with angle of inclination 5-10deg. and at a grooving speed of 18mm/sec, which favors ductile mode of grooving. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.