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Machining of depleted uranium using coated cutting tools

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Abstract

The machining of depleted uranium and its alloys are discussed in this article. Traditionally, these materials have been machined, with limited success, using uncoated cutting tools. New developments in titanium-based coatings such as cation-substituted Ti1-x-y-z Al x Cr y Y2N alloys, with y=0.03 and z=0.02, have been shown to offer enhanced high-temperature oxidation resistance compared with the presently used TiN and Ti1-x Al x N films that are deposited to cutting tool surfaces. Layers (3 µm thickness) were deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputter (UBM) deposition to small-grain WC-Co unused cutting tools that had been ion-etched in situ using a steered Cr-metal-ion cathodic arc (CA) discharge at an Ar pressure of 6 × 10−4 mbar (0.45 m Torr). The metal ion etching promoted initial local epitaxy on individual substrate grains while the overall film texture evolved through competitive growth to a (111) plane in Ti0.44Al0.53Cr0.03N alloys and (200) plane in Ti0.43Al0.52Cr0.03Y0.02N alloys. Although Ti0.04Al0.53Cr0.03N layers exhibited a columnar microstructure that was similar to that previously observed in Ti1-x Al x N alloys, the addition of 2 mol% YN resulted in significant grain refinement, giving rise to an equiaxed structure. The Knoop microhardness of Ti0.43Al0.52Cr0.03Y0.02N alloys was HK0.025=2700 kg/mm compared with 2400 kg/mm for Ti0.44Al0.53Cr0.03N alloys. The onset of rapid oxidation, as determined from thermogravimetric measurements, ranged from ≈600 °C for TiN; to 870 °C for Ti0.466Al0.54N; to 920 °C for Ti0.44Al0.53Cr0.03N; to 950 °C for Ti0.43Al0.522Cr0.03Y0.02N. Machining experiments indicated that cutting tool life is improved significantly using Y-doped Ti-based coatings when machining uranium alloys.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Manufacturing, College of Technology, Purdue University, 47907, West Lafayette, IN

    M. J. Jackson & G. M. Robinson

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  1. M. J. Jackson
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  2. G. M. Robinson
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Jackson, M.J., Robinson, G.M. Machining of depleted uranium using coated cutting tools. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 15, 161–171 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1361/105994906X95814

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1361/105994906X95814

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