Machinability testing for gear hobbing applications

ArcelorMittal focuses on both mechanical performances and machinability while designing new steel grades. ArcelorMittal has developed specific programs for machinability testing in turning, low and high speed drilling and gear machining. Machinability is evaluated through cutting forces, chip shape, surface quality and tool life. Gear machining is one of the main machining operations involved in powertrain manufacturing operations. The literature proposes many papers dealing with this process however there are too few studies interested in steel machinability evaluation while gear machining. This paper focuses on a particular gear manufacturing process, i.e. gear hobbing, and more precisely on steel machinability for gear hobbing applications. Tools as well as kinematics of gear hobbing are quite complex. This paper proposes a comprehensive experimental protocol for machinability testing. This protocol is based on a European standard. Tests are performed on a machine tool using a commercially available cutting tool. Tests provide the range of cutting conditions for five different steel grades. Both steels have a ferrite-pearlite structure with yield stress from 530 to 800 MPa and ultimate tensile stress from 680 to 900 MPa. Four grades are devoted to bar machining. The last one is devoted to forming and then machining operations. Many metallurgical solutions are investigated to enhance machinability such as lead addition or increase in sulfur content or calcium treatment. This paper analyses the influence of steel composition and structure on machinability. It shows the relevance of metallurgical solutions for machinability enhancement even for powertrain applications. Cutting conditions clearly depend on the metallurgical solution even if specific cutting force is finally close. The main difference is found on tool wear with tool life ratio from 1 to 1.5

Effects of three-body interactions on the structure and thermodynamics of liquid krypton

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations are performed to predict the structural and thermodynamic properties of liquid krypton using a potential energy function based on the two-body potential of Aziz and Slaman plus the triple-dipole Axilrod-Teller (AT) potential. By varying the strength of the AT potential we study the influence of three-body contribution beyond the triple-dipole dispersion. It is seen that the AT potential gives an overall good description of liquid Kr, though other contributions such as higher order three-body dispersion and exchange terms cannot be ignored.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, to appear in J. Chem. Phy

Coexistence of low and high overlap phases in a supercooled liquid: An integral equation investigation

The pair structure, free energy, and configurational overlap order parameter Q of an annealed system of two weakly coupled replicas of a supercooled \u201csoft sphere\u201d fluid are determined by solving the hypernetted-chain (HNC) and self-consistent Rogers-Young (RY) integral equations over a wide range of thermodynamic conditions \u3c1 (number-density), T (temperature), and inter-replicas couplings \u3b512. Analysis of the resulting effective (or Landau) potential W(\u3c1,T; Q) and of its derivative with respect to Q confirms the existence of a \u201cprecursor transition\u201d between weak and strong overlap phases below a critical temperature Tc well above the temperature To of the \u201cideal glass\u201d transition observed in the limit \u3b512\u21920. The precursor transition is signalled by a loss of convexity of the potential W(Q) and by a concomitant discontinuity of the order parameter Q just below Tc, which crosses over to a mean-field-like van der Waals loop at lower temperatures. The HNC and RY equations lead to the same phase transition scenario, with quantitative differences in the predicted temperatures Tc and To

Comment on ``An investigation of the liquid to glass transition using integral equations for the pair structure of coupled replicae'' [J. Chem. Phys. 141, 174505 (2014)]

Questa pubblicazione non ha abstract in quanto "commento"

Machinability in dry carbide drilling

Intensive weight savings and out-sizing programs are developed in automotive industry and lead to increase the mechanical properties of the material of the automotive parts. ArcelorMittal has developed specific steel grades known as Super High Strength Steels which are designed for both high ductility and toughness and fatigue resistance. This paper investigates machinability for a drilling operation using an experimental methodology. One of the materials is a new low bainitic steel grade. Experiments are performed with a coated carbide solid drill. Thrust force and torque measurements, chip morphology analysis, surface quality monitoring and tool wear tests are carried out. Experiments are performed with and without lubricant

Application to crankshaft manufacturing methodology, results and analysis

The gain of productivity in machining is generally sought through tools and/or cutting conditions optimization however an increase in productivity is achievable too through the workmaterial optimization. The metallurgical structure as well as the chemical composition of steels widely influence their ability to be machined. Mittal Steel Europe R & D develops new steel grades such as the Super High Strength Steels whose tensile stresses may reach 1000 or 1200 MPa. A cooperative research program between Mittal Steel Europe R&D and ENSAM tends to propose a methodology able to sort the steel grades in terms of ability to be manufactured (in forging and machining). This study focuses on such an industrial application : the heavy vehicles crankshaft manufacturing. The operation investigated consists in deep hole drilling and is concerned with the lubrication holes. This paper proposes some relevant criteria to compare the different steel grades and/or structures. Some experimental results are proposed

Comparison between integral equation method and molecular dynamics simulation for three-body forces: Application to supercritical argon

The prediction of the structural and thermodynamic properties of supercritical argon has been carried out by two independent routes: semianalytical calculations and numerical simulations. The first one is based on the hybridized mean spherical approximation (HMSA) conjugated with an effective pair potential that incorporates multipole dispersion interactions. The second one uses a very recent numerical simulation technique, inspired by the Car–Parrinello method [van der Hoef et al., J. Chem. Phys. 111, 1520 (1999)], which contains an effective quantum-mechanical representation of the underlying electronic structure. The latter approach allows us to treat the contribution of the three-body effects as well, and to validate the use of an effective pair potential for them in the framework of the self-consistent integral equation method. For all the supercritical argon states studied, the results obtained with the semianalytical approach are in good agreement with the predictions of the numerical simulation. Here it is shown that HMSA remains competitive with molecular dynamics simulation when the triple-dipole and the dipole–dipole–quadrupole three-body terms are taken into accoun

Giant axonal neuropathy–associated gigaxonin mutations impair intermediate filament protein degradation

Author Posting. © American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Society for Clinical Investigation for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Clinical Investigation 123 (2013): 1964–1975, doi:10.1172/JCI66387.Giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) is an early-onset neurological disorder caused by mutations in the GAN gene (encoding for gigaxonin), which is predicted to be an E3 ligase adaptor. In GAN, aggregates of intermediate filaments (IFs) represent the main pathological feature detected in neurons and other cell types, including patients’ dermal fibroblasts. The molecular mechanism by which these mutations cause IFs to aggregate is unknown. Using fibroblasts from patients and normal individuals, as well as Gan–/– mice, we demonstrated that gigaxonin was responsible for the degradation of vimentin IFs. Gigaxonin was similarly involved in the degradation of peripherin and neurofilament IF proteins in neurons. Furthermore, proteasome inhibition by MG-132 reversed the clearance of IF proteins in cells overexpressing gigaxonin, demonstrating the involvement of the proteasomal degradation pathway. Together, these findings identify gigaxonin as a major factor in the degradation of cytoskeletal IFs and provide an explanation for IF aggregate accumulation, the subcellular hallmark of this devastating human disease.This work was supported by NIH grants 1P01GM096971 (to R.D. Goldman) and R01 NS062051 (to P. Opal) and a grant from Hannah’s Hope Fund (to R.D. Goldman and P. Opal)

CENP-F stabilizes kinetochore-microtubule attachments and limits dynein stripping of corona cargoes

Accurate chromosome segregation demands efficient capture of microtubules by kinetochores and their conversion to stable bioriented attachments that can congress and then segregate chromosomes. An early event is the shedding of the outermost fibrous corona layer of the kinetochore following microtubule attachment. Centromere protein F (CENP-F) is part of the corona, contains two microtubule-binding domains, and physically associates with dynein motor regulators. Here, we have combined CRISPR gene editing and engineered separation-of-function mutants to define how CENP-F contributes to kinetochore function. We show that the two microtubule-binding domains make distinct contributions to attachment stability and force transduction but are dispensable for chromosome congression. We further identify a specialized domain that functions to limit the dynein-mediated stripping of corona cargoes through a direct interaction with Nde1. This antagonistic activity is crucial for maintaining the required corona composition and ensuring efficient kinetochore biorientation

Novel homozygous missense mutation in GAN associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 in a large consanguineous family from Israel.

BACKGROUND: CMT-2 is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of peripheral axonal neuropathies characterized by slowly progressive weakness and atrophy of distal limb muscles resulting from length-dependent motor and sensory neurodegeneration. Classical giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) is an autosomal recessively inherited progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the peripheral and central nervous systems, typically diagnosed in early childhood and resulting in death by the end of the third decade. Distinctive phenotypic features are the presence of "kinky" hair and long eyelashes. The genetic basis of the disease has been well established, with over 40 associated mutations identified in the gene GAN, encoding the BTB-KELCH protein gigaxonin, involved in intermediate filament regulation. METHODS: An Illumina Human CytoSNP-12 array followed by whole exome sequence analysis was used to identify the disease associated gene mutation in a large consanguineous family diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT-2) from which all but one affected member had straight hair. RESULTS: Here we report the identification of a novel GAN missense mutation underlying the CMT-2 phenotype observed in this family. Although milder forms of GAN, with and without the presence of kinky hair have been reported previously, a phenotype distinct from that was investigated in this study. All family members lacked common features of GAN, including ataxia, nystagmus, intellectual disability, seizures, and central nervous system involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings broaden the spectrum of phenotypes associated with GAN mutations and emphasize a need to proceed with caution when providing families with diagnostic or prognostic information based on either clinical or genetic findings alone