ORIGINAL ARTICLE Modelling the effects of cutting parameters on residual stresses in hard turning of AISI H11 tool steel Sanjeev Saini & Inderpreet Singh Ahuja & Vishal S. Sharma Received: 20 June 2011 / Accepted: 24 April 2012 / Published online: 12 May 2012 # Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012 Abstract In the present study, an attempt has been made to model the effect of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed, depth of cut and nose radius) on residual stresses in hard turning of AISI H11 tool steel using ceramic tools. The machining experiments were conducted based on response surface methodology and using the Box–Behnken design of experiments. Residual stresses were determined using the X-ray diffraction technique, and the experimental results were investigated using analysis of variance. The results indicated that the feed and depth of cut are the main influ- encing factor on residual stresses whereas cutting speed and nose radius are having mild impact on residual stresses. The results show that it is possible to produce tailor-made resid- ual stress levels by controlling the tool geometry and cutting parameters. The aim of this paper is to introduce an original approach for the prediction of residual stresses. Keywords Hard turning . Residual stress . Cutting parameters . Cutting tool Nomenclature A,B,C,D Describing factors a p Depth of cut (millimetres) f Feed rate (millimetres per revolution) HRC Rockwell hardness r Nose radius (millimetres) VB Flank wear (millimetres) V c Cutting speed (metres per minute) Y1, Y2, Y3 Describing responses σ α Axial residual stress σ t Tangential residual stress σ c Circumferential residual stress 1 Introduction The finish hard turning process is defined as the turning of materials with hardness higher than 50 HRC. The use of hard turning has not only become more widespread but is now an accepted method for achieving increased product quality in finishing operations. König et al. [6] showed that by using hard turning instead of grinding, it was easier to control the surface integrity of a product. Hard turning has become a great interest since 1970s because it provides an alternative to conventional grinding in machining high precision, high hardness components. In a traditional machining process, after a part is rough machined, it is heat-treated and then finished via grinding. Grinding takes about three times the nor- mal processing time compared to hard turning, and the process is often manual. In addition, for the hard mate- rials, before rough machining can take place, the part must be annealed to allow the soft turning of the part. Thus, finish hard turning eliminates the two complex process steps, i.e. annealing prior to rough machining S. Saini (*) DAV Institute of Engg. & Technology, Jalandhar, India e-mail: sanjudaviet@gmail.com I. S. Ahuja Punjabi University, Patiala, India V. S. Sharma Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NIT, Jalandhar, India Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2013) 65:667–678 DOI 10.1007/s00170-012-4206-0