Twin discoveries, ‘eerie’ effect may lead to manufacturing advances The discover

Twin discoveries, ‘eerie’ effect may lead to manufacturing advances

The discovery of a previously unknown type of metal deformation – sinuous flow – and a method to suppress it could lead to more efficient machining and other manufacturing advances by reducing the force and energy required to process metals.
Researchers at Purdue University discovered sinuous flow deformation and also were surprised to discover a potentially simple way to control it, said Srinivasan Chandrasekar, a professor of industrial engineering, who is working with W. Dale Compton, the Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering, postdoctoral research associate Ho Yeung and graduate student Koushik Viswanathan.
The team discovered the phenomenon by using high-speed microphotography and analysis to study what happens while cutting ductile metals. They found that the metal is deformed into folds while it is being cut – contrary to long-held assumptions that metals are sheared uniformly – and also that sinuous flow can be controlled by suppressing this folding behavior.
“When the metal is sheared during a cutting process it forms these finely spaced folds, which we were able to see for the first time only because of direct observation in real time,” Yeung said.