Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride (PCBN) is a superhard material
which is used in machining of hardened steels and other abrasive and
aerospace grade alloys. In these applications the tools are subjected to high
operating temperatures, abrasive and impact loading. Impact loading can lead
to the sudden fracture and hence failure of the tool. In this work the static and
dynamic fracture toughness of PCBN is determined via a combined
experimental-numerical approach. The results show that the fracture toughness
of PCBN varies with loading rate
Sponsorship
Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology
Other Sponsorship
Enterprise Ireland,
and Element 6 Ltd., Shannon Ireland