Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:893899

DOI 10.1007/s00170-011-3679-6

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Effect of cutting speed on surface integrity and chip

morphology in high-speed machining of PM nickel-based
superalloy FGH95
Du Jin & Zhanqiang Liu

Received: 21 March 2011 / Accepted: 26 September 2011 / Published online: 14 October 2011
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

Abstract High-speed machining is being recognized as

one of the key manufacturing technologies for getting
higher productivity and better surface integrity. FGH95
powder metallurgy superalloy is a kind of nickel-based
superalloy which is produced by near-net-shape technology.
With increasing demands for high precision and high
performance of FGH95 components in aerospace industry,
it is essential to recognize that the machined surface
integrity may determine machined part service performance
and reliability. Then, little is known about the machined
surface integrity of this superalloy. Thus, the surface
integrity in high-speed machining of FGH95 is investigated
in this paper. Experiments are conducted on a CNC milling
center with coated carbide tools under dry cutting conditions. The surface integrity is evaluated in terms of
surface roughness, microhardness, and white layer. The
influence of cutting speed on chip morphology is also
investigated. Experiment results show that surface integrity
and chip morphology of FGH95 are very sensitive to the
cutting speed. When cutting speeds are below 2,400 m/min,
the values of surface roughness have little variation, while
when cutting speeds are in the range of 2,8003,600 m/min,
the values of surface roughness are higher than that of other
cutting speeds. Severe work hardening is observed resulting
from high-speed machining of FGH95 superalloy. The
higher the cutting speed, the higher the surface hardness.
When cutting speeds are in the range of 2,8003,600 m/min,

D. Jin : Z. Liu (*)

School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University,
Jinan,
Shandong 250061, China
e-mail: melius@sdu.edu.cn

the white layer thickness is slightly higher than that of other

cutting speeds. In high-speed machining of FGH95, the chip
is segmented and has a typical sawtooth shape. The degree of
serrated chip increases with the cutting speed. When the
cutting speeds exceed 2,400 m/min, serrated chips change into
fragment chips.
Keywords Cutting speed . Powder metallurgy . Surface
integrity . High-speed machining . Chip morphology

1 Introduction
High-speed machining is currently attracting considerable
worldwide interests for mold and die manufacturers as a
means of directly machining components in a range of
hardened tool steels [1, 2]. These machining processes are
characterized by their high productivity, good surface
quality, and higher dimensional tolerances [3]. Additionally,
high-speed machining technology makes it possible to
execute final machining operations without consequent
grinding or similar finishing operations.
Superalloys are heat-resistant alloys of nickel, nickeliron,
or cobalt that exhibit a combination of mechanical strength
and resistance to surface degradation generally unmatched by
other metallic compounds, which represents a significant
metal portion of the aircraft structural and engine components
[4]. However, the physical material properties and machining
characteristics of this class of materials have led to classify
them as difficult-to-machine [5]. A number of factors
contribute to this classification including high shear strength,
work hardening tendency, highly abrasive carbide particles
in the microstructure, strong tendency to weld and form a
build-up tool edge, and low thermal conductivity [6].

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:893899

Among the commercially available superalloys used in the

aeronautical industry, FGH95 is a relatively advanced kind
of turbine disks material, which is one kind of powder
metallurgy (PM) nickel-based superalloy. It plays an
increasingly important role in the development and
manufacture of turbine disks owing to its unique properties such as high oxidation resistance and corrosion
resistance even at very high temperatures. When components in aerospace industry are manufactured with FGH95
superalloy to reach high reliability levels, surface integrity
is one of the most relevant parameters used for evaluating
the quality of finish machined surfaces [7]. The machined
surface integrity such as surface roughness and surface
alteration (work hardening and white layer) has significant
effects on the surface properties such as fatigue, stress
corrosion resistance, and creep strength, which in turn
affects the service life of components. Therefore, high
degree of FGH95 surface integrity is an essential requirement for better performance, reliability, and longevity of
the machined parts during service [8, 9].
Extensive past researches have been concerned with
surface integrity and chip formation especially for Inconel
718 induced during machining [1015]. Although knowledge
of the surface integrity of PM nickel-based superalloy
produced in high-speed machining is critical to its performance, there is a lack of research done in this area. Cutting
force and cutting temperature decrease with the cutting speed
increases in high-speed machining. It is therefore important
to know how the adjustment of cutting speed affects the
surface integrity in high-speed machining. Bearing these
in mind, it is critical to further study surface integrity
and chip morphology in high-speed machining of FGH95
PM nickel-based superalloy. Thus, the aim of this work
is to fill the gap in the literature by describing an in-depth
investigation of the evolution of FGH95 surface integrity and
chip morphology in high-speed machining of FGH95. In
this paper, the effects of cutting speed on the surface
integrity of PM nickel-based superalloy FGH95 including
surface roughness, microhardness, and white layer in
high-speed milling are presented. The effects of cutting
speed on chip morphology are also described.

2 Experimental works
2.1 Work material and cutting tools
The material in the cutting experiments was PM nickel-based
superalloy FGH95. The chemical composition of the
FGH95 includes: Ni 62.63%, Cr 12.98%, Co 8.00%,
Nb 3.50%, Al 3.48%, W 3.40%, Mo 3.40%, Ti 2.55%,
and C 0.06% [16].
The sheet specimens of FGH95 with size 6040
2.5 mm were used for the cutting experiments, which are
shown in Fig. 1a. In Fig. 1b, the cutting insert geometry
applied in this experiment is also shown. Its full description
is SNHX12L5PZTNGP KC725M with TiN and AlTiN
advanced PVD coatings. KC725M is a high-performance
grade for milling steel, stainless steel, and superalloy. Good
thermal shock resistance of the substrate makes this grade
ideal for dry high-speed machining. Before each experimental
cutting, the insert was changed to a fresh one in order to
eliminate the influence of tool wear on the machined surface
integrity.
2.2 Orthogonal milling tests
High-speed machining tests were carried out on a three-axis
CNC machining center with a maximum spindle rotation
speed of 12,000 rpm. Orthogonal milling operations, i.e.,
feeding the tool from the cylinder surface towards the
center of the cylinder, were performed under dry cutting
conditions. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2. The
diameter of the tool used in this experiment is 160 mm. In
this paper, the surface integrity in terms of surface
roughness, work hardening, and white layer of high-speed
milling FGH95 is presented when the cutting speeds are
changed. The cutting speeds employed in this experiment
were 800, 1,200, 1,600, 2,000, 2,400, 2,800, 3,200, 3,600,
and 4,000 m/min. The axial depth of cut and feed was
maintained constant at 2 mm and 0.02 mm/r, respectively.
When machining processes were finished, the workpiece
sheets were uninstalled and removed for measurement of
their machined surface roughness.

60mm

(a) Workpiece sheet

12.7mm

40mm

Fig. 1 Workpiece and cutting

insert employed in the
experiments

2mm
12.7mm

5.4mm

(b) Cutting insert

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:893899

895

measured surface area was 94.2125.7 m. The contour

arithmetic mean deviation of the profile, i.e., surface
roughness Ra, was measured and repeated three times at
each point on the face of the machined surface, and the
average values were adopted.
Vickers hardness tester was employed with a load of 50 gf
(0.49 N) to measure the machined surface microhardness.
Microhardness of 495 HV was recorded for bulk material of
FGH95. The indentation for microhardness measurement
was penetrated at every 20 m depth beneath the machined
surface until the hardness was achieved at 495 HV for
bulk material. The microhardness measurements were
repeated three times for each inspection point, and the
average values were finally adopted. A digital microscope
(Keyence VHX600E) and scanning electron microscope
(SEM) were used for the analysis of the chip morphology
and microstructure change of the machined surface.

Fig. 2 Schematic of orthogonal milling

After the measurement of surface roughness, the

machined workpiece sheets were cut into square specimens
(1010 mm) in order to be mounted in the bakelite as
shown in Fig. 3. Then, the samples were polished and
etched with 2.5% copper chloride, 48.8% hydrochloric
acid, and 48.7% ethanol to analyze possible metallurgical
changes beneath the machined surfaces using an optical
microscope. The same samples were used for assessing
microhardness distribution beneath the machined surface.
Chips were also collected during machining tests for the
investigations of the effects of cutting speeds on chip
morphology.
2.3 Surface integrity measurements
In this investigation, machined surface integrity was
systematically characterized by surface roughness, microhardness, and microstructure changes (white layer). The
roughness of machined surface after each test was measured
using WYKO NT9300 white light interferometer. The

3 Results and discussions

The results and discussions are focused on the workpiece
surface integrity and chip morphology aspects on high-speed
machining of PM nickel-based superalloy FGH95.
3.1 Surface roughness
Surface roughness is a widely used index of machined
surface quality; in most cases, it is a technical requirement
for mechanical products which plays an important role in
parts of accuracy and service life. In this paper, the effect of
cutting speed on surface roughness has been investigated
during high-speed machining FGH95. The workpiece
surface roughness measurements (Ra across the feed
direction, sampling length is 94 m, sampling width is
126 m) are presented as shown in Fig. 4.
It can be seen that the effect of cutting speed on the
surface roughness is significant. In Fig. 4, surface roughness
0.5

Machined surface

Workpiece
specimen

Surface roughness(m)

Machined surface

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1

Bakelite
Fig. 3 Workpiece specimen mounting

800 1200 1600 2000 2400 2800 3200 3600 4000

Cutting speed(m/min)
Fig. 4 Variation of surface roughness with cutting speed

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values are in the range of 0.160.46 m which is generally

required for components such as turbine disks. When the
cutting speeds are below 2,400 m/min, the values of surface
roughness have little change. Surface roughness values
increase with the increase of cutting speed. Figure 5a
exhibits the surface topography obtained by WYKO
NT9300 white light interferometer at cutting speed of
800 m/min. The maximum value of surface roughness is
achieved when cutting speed is 3,200 m/min; its surface
topography is presented in Fig. 5b. With further increase of
cutting speed, the values of surface roughness decrease. The
reason for this tendency is PM nickel-based superalloy
FGH95 is a kind of plastic material, and lower cutting speed
can induce smaller plastic deformation and lower cutting
temperature; thus, the values of surface roughness are lower.
When cutting speeds are in the range of 2,8003,600 m/min,
larger plastic deformation, build-up tool edge, and burrs
come into formation owing to the existence of friction and
extrusion. Thus, the value of surface roughness increases
higher. However, with the further increase of cutting speed,
the build-up tool edge and burrs are decreased or even
disappeared, and at the same time, plastic deformation of
workpiece is also reduced. The surface roughness is then
decreased. It can be seen that among the nine cutting speed
values, except for cutting speed in the range of 2,800
3,600 m/min, good surface roughness values can be
achieved.
3.2 Microhardness
Work hardening of the deformed layer beneath the
machined surface up to 160 m caused higher hardness
than the average hardness of the bulk material. Thus,
subsurface of machined samples can be divided into two
regions as exhibited in Fig. 6, that is, hardened region and
bulk material region. Microhardness was measured under
different depths beneath the machined surface. The measurements of microhardness were performed three times at every

20 m depth up to 160 m beneath the machined surface, and

the average result for each depth was recorded and plotted.
The results of microhardness versus the indent position
beneath the machined surface for machined surface samples
produced at various cutting speeds are shown in Fig. 7.
Each microhardness profile represents the averaged three
sets of microhardness data. The microhardness profiles are
characterized by the higher surface hardness (520590 HV)
and stable bulk hardness (475 HV). It means the machined
surface materials experienced significant strain hardening in
the range of 9.4724.2% induced by surface deformation.
Furthermore, higher cutting speeds generate larger deformation on the machined surface which in turn induces higher
surface hardness. The higher the cutting speeds, the higher the
surface hardness.
3.3 White layer
The term white layer originates from the fact that this surface
appears white under an optical microscope or featureless in a
scanning electron microscope (SEM) [17, 18]. Thus, in
literature, the term white layer is used as a generic phrase
referring to very hard surface layers formed under a variety of
conditions, which appear white under the microscope.
Superficial white layers formed during high-speed machining
have negative effects on fatigue strength of machined parts.
White layer is often associated with residual tensile stress
leading to reduced fatigue strength and poor wear resistance
[1922].
Superficial white layers fall into three main areas as
suggested by Griffiths [23], namely, those at the surface of
engineering components, those resulting from laboratory
experiments, and those formed as a result of manufacturing
processes. The three main mechanisms of white layer
formation are plastic flow, rapid heating and quenching,
and surface reaction. In practice, it is conceivable that these
mechanisms cannot be separated, and white layer formation
results from a combination of mechanisms with lesser or

800m/min

Fig. 5 WYKO images of surface topography. a v=800 m/min, b v=3,200 m/min

3200m/min

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:893899

897

White layer

Plastic deformation region

Fig. 8 White layer in FGH95 machined surface formed at cutting

speed of 800 m/min

Fig. 6 The microhardness region beneath the machined surface of

FGH95

greater degree of activation. Figure 8 shows the typical

characteristic of the white layer generated in high-speed
machining of FGH95 at a cutting speed of 800 m/min.
It can be seen from Fig. 8 that the typical thickness of a
white layer zone is approximately 10 m. However, the
thickness of white layer can vary depending on the thermal,
mechanical, or chemical properties present. Below the
white layer, there is a plastic deformation region which is
largely affected by the machining process.
Cutting speed has a significant influence on the
thickness of white layer. Figure 9 shows that the white
layer thickness reduces as the cutting speed increases. It can
be seen from Fig. 9 that the white layer thickness remains
approximately constant when cutting speeds are in the

range of 8002,400 m/min. When the cutting speeds reach

a particular range of 2,8003,600 m/min, the white layer
thickness is slightly higher than that of other cutting speeds.
At the cutting speed range of 2,8003,600 m/min, the
thermal influence is very essential as the machined surface
is heated and cooled down rapidly by the unheated mass
and environment. The rapid heating up and cooling down
process results in the machined surface microstructure
transformation which is known as a modified layer.
Another primary reason to generate the white layer can be
attributed to the severe plastic deformation at the cutting
speed range of 2,8003,600 m/min. When the cutting
speeds exceed 3,600 m/min, the white layer thickness is
similar to that of cutting speeds at the range of 800
2,400 m/min.
3.4 Chip morphology
Chip shapes, i.e., continuous and discontinuous (sawtooth
or serrated type), in machining of FGH95 depend on the
combined effects of workpiece and insert material proper-

600

800m/min

1600m/min

2400m/min

3200m/min

4000m/min

550
500
450
400

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Indent position beneath the machined surface (m)

15

White layer thickness(m)

Microhardness(HV)

650

13
11
9
7
5

800 1200 1600 2000 2400 2800 3200 3600 4000

Cutting speed(m/min)
Fig. 7 The microhardness values measured on the subsurface of
machined surface samples

Fig. 9 Typical variation of white layer thickness with cutting speed

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Enlarged

Fig. 10 SEM images of chip morphology in high-speed machining of FGH95 formed at cutting speed of 800 m/min

ties, cutting speed, feed rate, and cutting tool geometry

[24]. The comprehension of chip formation plays an
important role in hard milling process optimization and
surface integrity, and thus part performance. Sawtooth
chips are usually formed in hard machining at high
speeds and represent an essential feature of the chip
morphology [25]. Sawtooth chip formation is a two-stage
process in which workpiece material is plastically deformed
ahead of the tool causing it to bulge. When a critical
strain level is reached, catastrophic failure occurs and a
shear band is formed extending from the tool tip to the
workpiece surface [26].
As is generally known, the chip segmentation is very
distinct in a nickel-based superalloy. The chip formation for
PM nickel-based superalloy FGH95 is described in the
cutting speed range of 800 and 4,000 m/min. In high-speed
machining of PM nickel-based superalloy, serrated chips
were observed even at relative lower cutting speeds as
shown in Fig. 10. It can be seen from Fig. 10 that when
machining with cutting speed of 800 m/min, the chip is
segmented and has a typical sawtooth shape. The influences

of cutting speeds on the chip formation are shown in

Fig. 11. Figure 11 shows the degree of serrated increases
with the increase in cutting speed. When cutting speed is
2,000 m/min, the chip shape is heavily segmented. When
cutting speeds exceed 2,400 m/min, serrated chips changed
into fragment chips.

4 Conclusions
The experimental investigation of cutting speed influence
on surface integrity and chip morphology with high-speed
machining of powder metallurgy nickel-based superalloy
FGH95 is presented in this paper. The main results are
summarized in the following:
1. The surface integrity of FGH95 resulting from the
orthogonal milling process at high machining speed is
significantly affected by the variation in cutting speed
and in the range of experimental cutting speeds
observed in this work.

Fig. 11 Chip morphology in

high-speed machining of
FGH95 (100)

(a)V=800m/min

(b)V=2200m/min

(c)V=2400m/min

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 60:893899

2. Values of surface roughness show little variation at

cutting speeds below 2,000 m/min. Maximum value of
surface roughness was observed at a cutting speed of
3,200 m/min, and surface roughness decreased at even
higher cutting speeds.
3. There exists severe work hardening when high-speed
machining FGH95. Observed values of surface hardness
increase with cutting speed.
4. Except for cutting speeds in particular range of
2,8003,600 m/min, the white layer thickness is slightly
higher. White layer thickness remains approximately
constant at other cutting speeds.
5. The degree of chip segmentation increases with the
increases of cutting speed. When cutting speeds exceed
2,400 m/min, serrated chips changed into fragment
chips.

Acknowledgment This work has been supported by the National

Basic Research Program of China (2009CB724401), National Natural
Science Foundation of China (50935003 and 50975162), Foundation
of Shandong Province of China for Distinguished Young Scholars
(JQ200918), Mega-project of High-grade NC Machine Tools and
Basic Manufacturing Equipment (2009ZX04012-031 and
2010ZX04017-012).

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