Investigation on the machining processes of fiber reinforced polymers using experimental and finite element analysis

Abstract

Composite materials are widely used by the modern industries in the field of automobile, aerospace, construction, marine, defense, chemical, medical, sports products and for making domestic items due to their higher strength to weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance properties. Generally composites are made to near - net shape, but limited machining such as drilling and milling process are required to get the desired shape and to assemble with other components. However, non-homogeneous and anisotropic nature of the composites makes conventional machining process difficult and complicated. Hence, their machinability is an area of concern for the industry and the researchers. Moreover, it is very challenging to ensure the quality of the machined surface by reducing the machining induced damage, in spite of the high tool wear and tooling costs. These damages severely reduce the service life of the composite components. In order to reduce the machining induced damages and to improve the machining efficiency, it is mandatory to investigate the complex cutting mechanism of the composites, to reveal how the material is removed and damage occurs. These studies provide a platform to design modern tools and to optimize the machining operation through experimental studies which are costly, time consuming and difficult to visualise the deformation patterns at the micro and macro levels. The theoretical models also have limitations and hence, numerical models are an efficient, cost effective and time saving method. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a powerful and robust method which provides the ability to change the process parameters, fiber orientations, material properties and tool properties in the preprocessor mode. newline