A critical review on tool wear mechanism and surface integrity aspects of SiCp/Al MMCs during turning: prospects and challenges

Among several kinds of metal matrix composite materials (MMCs), such as silicon-based reinforced aluminum matrix (SiCp/Al) composites have become the most valuable composite material due to their various applications in industries, sports equipment, electrons, and automotive. Due to the presence of hard ceramic reinforcements, the SiCp/Al composite is considered a difficult-to-cut material, which leads to significant hindrances in machining operations together with increased tool wear, cutting force, and degradation of machined surface quality. The present review is focused on the recent advancements in turning process of metal matrix composites. An attempt is made to comprehensively analyze and identify the influencing factors on the machinability of metal matrix composites (MMCs). The main purpose of this review is to cover the topics such as the recent trends in turning and hybrid turning processes of MMCs, tool wear and its mechanisms, tool selection, the effect of cutting parameters, surface integrity, SiCp/Al composite properties and reinforcement effect, chip formation mechanisms, and different modeling approaches used in particle-reinforced MMCs machining process. Finally, some research gaps and future directions are suggested that could lead to efficient machining of particle-reinforced MMCs.