Cutting Mechanics of Soft Compressible Solids: Force-radius scaling versus bulk modulus

Abstract

Cutting mechanics in soft solids present a complex mechanical challenge due to the intricate behavior of soft ductile materials as they undergo crack nucleation and propagation. Recent research has explored the relationship between the cutting force needed to continuously cut a soft material and the radius of the wire (blade). A typical simplifying assumption is that of material incompressibility, albeit no material in nature is really incompressible. In this study, we relax this assumption and examine how material (in)compressibility influences the correlation between cutting forces and material properties like toughness and modulus. The ratio μ/\k{appa}, where μ and \k{appa} are the shear and bulk moduli, indicates the material's degree of compressibility, where incompressible materials have μ/\k{appa}=0, and larger μ/\k{appa} provide higher volumetric compressibility. Following previous observations, we obtain two cutting regimes: (i) high toughness or small wire radius, and (ii) low toughness or large wire radius. Regime (i) is dominated by frictional dissipation, while regime (ii) is dominated by adhesive debonding and/or the wear resistance of the material. These regimes are controlled by the ratio between the wire radius and the elasto-cohesive length of the material: the critical crack opening displacement at fast fracture under uniaxial tension. In the large radius, regime (ii), our theoretical findings reveal that incompressible materials require larger forces. Notably, however, the elasto-cohesive length of the material, defining the transition wire radius between regimes (i) and (ii), is larger for compressible materials, which are therefore more likely to be cut in regime (i), and thus requiring larger cutting forces.