Effect of curing pressure on machinability of carbon fiber composite

Abstract

The increasing use of composite materials in aerospace structures and their associated manufacturing and machining processes have shown the need to reengineer traditional tools. This study aims to provide an understanding of the relationship between the manufacturing parameters of carbon fiber/epoxy composites and their machinability. The main objective is to establish a new predictive model for cutting forces during machining as a function of curing pressure, cutting speed and feed rate. The research methodology is based on a multifactorial design of experiments, with input factors being the curing pressure, the feed rate, and the cutting speed. To examine the effect of the composite curing pressure, correlations between the curing pressure and the void content, as well as between the curing pressure and the mechanical properties, are evaluated. The cutting forces are then predicted based on the curing pressure and the cutting parameters.