Experimental study on effects of fiber cutting angle in milling of high-strength unidirectional carbon fiber–reinforced polymer laminates

It is still a challenge to machine high-strength carbon fiber–reinforced polymer with high quality due to its poor machinability. Fiber direction is the critical factor. This article aims to investigate the effects of fiber cutting angle in milling of high-strength unidirectional carbon fiber–reinforced polymer laminates with regard to milling forces, machined surface morphology and surface roughness. The edge trimming and slot milling tests were conducted. The largest radial and tangential forces were observed on 135° fiber cutting angle followed by 90° while the smallest milling forces were observed on 45° fiber cutting angle. Totally, four basic material fracture mechanisms, that is, fiber–matrix debonding, bending-induced fiber fracture, shear-induced fiber fracture and compression-induced fiber fracture, were observed by the analysis of fracture morphology for a single fiber. The four basic material fracture mechanisms dominate the material fracture behavior during the cutting of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer. Besides, it is indicated that surface roughness of the machined surfaces is highly related to the type of the surface defects. Surface cavities caused by fiber–matrix debonding and bending-induced fiber fractures on 45° fiber cutting angle were observed to be the main factors leading to the decline of surface finish in milling of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer laminates.

[1]  Friedrich Kuster,et al.  Evaluation of bore exit quality for fibre reinforced plastics including delamination and uncut fibres , 2016 .

[2]  David K. Aspinwall,et al.  Hole quality assessment following drilling of metallic-composite stacks , 2011 .

[3]  E. Teghtsoonian,et al.  Axial compression fracture in carbon fibres , 1975 .

[4]  Victor Songmene,et al.  A comprehensive analysis of cutting forces during routing of multilayer carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates , 2012 .

[5]  Hang Gao,et al.  Mechanism of damage generation during drilling of carbon/epoxy composites and titanium alloy stacks , 2014 .

[6]  D. Biermann,et al.  Subsequent drilling on pilot holes in woven carbon fibre reinforced plastic epoxy laminates: the effect of drill chisel edge on delamination , 2011 .

[7]  Wolfgang Hintze,et al.  Occurrence and propagation of delamination during the machining of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRPs) – An experimental study , 2011 .

[8]  Brandon M. Lane,et al.  Fiber orientation angle effects in machining of unidirectional CFRP laminated composites , 2014 .

[9]  Xin Wang,et al.  Tool wear of coated drills in drilling CFRP , 2013 .

[10]  Fumihiro Itoigawa,et al.  Mechanism for changes in cutting forces for down-milling of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates: Modeling and experimentation , 2016 .

[11]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Assessment of delamination in composite materials: A review , 2016 .

[12]  Ming Chen,et al.  A comparative evaluation of polycrystalline diamond drills in drilling high-strength T800S/250F CFRP , 2014 .

[13]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Influence of machining parameters and new nano-coated tool on drilling performance of CFRP/Aluminium sandwich , 2012 .

[14]  A. Abrão,et al.  Drilling of fiber reinforced plastics: A review , 2007 .

[15]  Akira Hosokawa,et al.  High-quality machining of CFRP with high helix end mill , 2014 .

[16]  Usama A. Khashaba,et al.  Drilling of polymer matrix composites: A review , 2013 .

[17]  D. Aspinwall,et al.  Tool wear and hole quality when single-shot drilling of metallic-composite stacks with diamond-coated tools , 2014 .

[18]  D. J. Johnson,et al.  Flexural studies of carbon fibres , 1984 .

[19]  Eric Dimla,et al.  Recent advances in twist drill design for composite machining: A critical review , 2017 .

[20]  Ming Chen,et al.  Study on the cutting mechanics characteristics of high-strength UD-CFRP laminates based on orthogonal cutting method , 2015 .

[21]  D. Aspinwall,et al.  The effect of peel ply layer on hole integrity when drilling carbon fibre-reinforced plastic , 2011 .

[22]  Weiwei Ming,et al.  Drilling temperature and hole quality in drilling of CFRP/aluminum stacks using diamond coated drill , 2015 .

[23]  Ming Chen,et al.  Drilling machinability evaluation on new developed high-strength T800S/250F CFRP laminates , 2013 .

[24]  Ming Chen,et al.  Machinability of drilling T700/LT-03A carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates using candle stick drill and multi-facet drill , 2015 .

[25]  Y. Karpat,et al.  Comparative Analysis of PCD Drill Designs During Drilling of CFRP Laminates , 2015 .

[26]  Sam Zhang,et al.  Aerospace materials handbook , 2016 .

[27]  Mamidala Ramulu,et al.  Experimental study of surface quality and damage when drilling unidirectional CFRP composites , 2014 .

[28]  Liangchi Zhang,et al.  Cutting composites: A discussion on mechanics modelling , 2009 .

[29]  Weilong Cong,et al.  A review of mechanical drilling for composite laminates , 2012 .

[30]  Ming Chen,et al.  An experimental investigation on cutting-induced damage when drilling high-strength T800S/250F carbon fiber–reinforced polymer , 2017 .

[31]  I. Singh,et al.  Prediction of drilling-induced damage in unidirectional glass-fibre-reinforced plastic laminates using an artificial neural network , 2010 .

[32]  Li Hao,et al.  Analysis of cutting forces in helical milling of carbon fiber–reinforced plastics , 2013 .

[33]  Xin Wang,et al.  Comparative tool wear study based on drilling experiments on CFRp/Ti stack and its individual layers , 2014 .

[34]  F. Eyma,et al.  Study of trimming damages of CFRP structures in function of the machining processes and their impact on the mechanical behavior , 2014 .

[35]  Gérard Poulachon,et al.  CFRP drilling: Fundamental study of local feed force and consequences on hole exit damage , 2015 .

[36]  Yiğit Karpat,et al.  Mechanistic force modeling for milling of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates , 2012 .

[37]  D. Guo,et al.  Prediction of the cutting forces generated in the drilling of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic composites using a twist drill , 2012 .

[38]  Dave Kim,et al.  Effect of Tool Wear on Hole Quality in Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic–Titanium Alloy Stacks Using Tungsten Carbide and Polycrystalline Diamond Tools , 2016 .

[39]  H. Hocheng,et al.  Utilizing internal icing force to reduce delamination in drilling composite tubes , 2016 .

[40]  Jean-François Chatelain,et al.  A study of the combined effects of machining parameters on cutting force components during high speed robotic trimming of CFRPs , 2015 .