Thermal characteristics of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates during orthogonal cutting

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer has been used as a major material for primary load-bearing structural components in aviation industry. But its poor heat resistance is an important factor affecting the machining performance, because high cutting temperature above glass transition temperature of resin matrix (normally 300°C or below) may lead to the degradation of the resin matrix. In this study, orthogonal machining experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of cutting parameters, cutting tool geometric parameters, and material parameters on cutting temperature, and the prediction model of cutting temperature about fiber orientation angle ( θ) was built. Cutting temperature was measured by semiartificial thermocouple method. The experimental results revealed that the influence of cutting parameters on cutting temperature was not affected by fiber orientation angle of carbon fiber reinforced polymer. Cutting tool geometric parameters have little effect on cutting temperature. Unlike metal materials, cutting temperature was greatly influenced by θ. Cutting temperature for θ < 90° was significantly higher than that for θ > 90°. The maximum temperature occurred at θ = 90°. The influence of fiber orientation angle was shown in two aspects: changing the springback of unidirectional-carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates in cutting process, changing material removal mechanism, which affected cutting temperature eventually.