Effect of laminate configuration and feed rate on cutting performance when drilling holes in carbon fibre reinforced plastic composites

Composites use in the aerospace industry is expanding, in particular carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) for structural components. Machinability can however be problematic especially when drilling, due to CFRP's inherent anisotropy/in-homogeneity, limited plastic deformation and abrasive characteristics. Following a brief review on composites development and associated machining, the paper outlines experimental results when twist drilling 1.5 mm diameter holes in 3 mm thick CFRP laminate using tungsten carbide (WC) stepped drills. The control variables considered were prepreg type (3 types) and form (unidirectional (UD) and woven), together with drill feed rate (0.2 and 0.4 mm/rev). A full factorial experimental design was used involving 12 tests. Response variables included the number of drilled holes (wear criterion VB_Bmax ≤ 100 μm), thrust force and torque, together with entry and exit delamination (conventional and adjusted delamination factor values calculated) and hole diameter. Best results were obtained with woven MTM44-1/HTS oven cured material (3750 holes) while the effect of prepreg form on tool life was evident only when operating at the higher level of feed rate. Thrust forces were typically under 125 N with torque values generally below 65 Nmm over the range of operating parameters employed. Finally, the delamination factor (F_d) measured at hole entry and exit ranged between ～1.2–1.8 and 1.0–2.1 respectively.     

An investigation of workpiece temperature variation of helical milling for carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP)

Better prediction about the temperature distribution of workpiece has a great significance for improving performance of cutting process, especially relating to the workpiece of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). In this paper, a heat transfer model is developed to investigate the temperature distribution of CFRP workpiece in helical milling process. Depending on characteristics of helical milling, two kinds of heat sources have been presented, the geometrical shapes of which are modeled as semicircle arc and line. The complex trajectory of each heat source relative to the stable workpiece has been studied. Based on the analysis, unsteady state three-dimensional governing equation of heat transfer in CFRP workpiece with adiabatic boundary condition is proposed. The solution procedure of this nonhomogeneous heat transfer equation consists of two steps: it is transformed into homogeneous equation according to the heat transfer theory firstly; and then the homogeneous equation is solved using the separation of variables. Basing on the solution of the homogeneous equation, the temperature distribution resulting from the moving semicircle arc heat source and the line heat source has been studied detailedly. In order to calculate the heat generation in the helical milling process, a cutting force model is presented and the heat partition transferring into the CFRP workpiece is solved using the Conjugate Gradient Method. A series of tests of helical milling for CFRP are conducted, and the experiment results agree well with the results calculated by the predicted model. This model can be extended to optimize the cutting condition and restrain the thermal damage of the CFRP workpiece.     

钎焊金刚石铣磨刀具磨粒粒度尺寸与排布间距对CFRP磨削质量的影响

碳纤维增强复合材料（carbon fiber reinforced plastics,CFRP）由于其低层间结合力和各向异性导致其加工过程中易出现分层、毛刺、撕裂等加工缺陷和刀具耐用度低等问题。采用有序排布钎焊金刚石磨削刀具及"以磨代切"加工工艺能够有效减轻分层缺陷。为制备出适合CFRP磨边加工的钎焊金刚石刀具,本试验制备了不同磨粒排布间距与不同磨粒粒度尺寸的5种刀具,对比分析了刀具结构变化对CFRP磨边加工磨削力与加工表面质量的影响。试验结果表明:在一定范围内,在相同磨粒排布间距和加工参数下,随着磨粒粒度尺寸变大,磨削力变化很小,加工表面质量变差;在相同磨粒粒度尺寸与加工参数下,随着磨粒排布间距减小,磨削力先增大后减小,加工表面质量变好。      

Processing and properties of copper-coated carbon fibre reinforced aluminium alloy composites

Aluminium alloy matrix composites with carbon fibre reinforcement were prepared by stir casting method. In order to avoid any interfacial reactions in the carbon fibre reinforced composites, the carbon fibres were coated with copper. The fibres were coated by electroless coating method and then characterized. Composites containing different amounts of carbon fibres were prepared by stir casting and then subjected to age-hardening treatment. Fibre distribution was fairly uniform in the composites containing up to 4 wt% carbon fibres. Tensile strength of the composites was found to be increasing up to 4 wt% carbon fibre.     

硬质合金高温性能对碳纤维复合材料切削加工的影响研究

制备了主元素一致的两种WC-Co基细晶粒硬质合金材料,材料A添加有微量TaC（NbC）,材料B未添加微量元素。采用高温维氏硬度计对两种硬质合金材料进行高温硬度测试,并用这两种材料制成的菱齿立铣刀对碳纤维复合材料进行铣削加工。结果表明:硬质合金菱齿立铣刀铣削碳纤维复合材料时,磨粒磨损是刀具磨损的主要原因;硬质合金材料A的高温硬度高于材料B;在相同的使用条件下,材料A的耐磨性能比材料B好,制成的刀具使用寿命更长,更适合碳纤维复合材料的切削加工。      

Resistance welding of carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone composites using metal mesh and PEI film

Weldability of polyetheretherketone( PEEK) with polyetherimide( PEI) is tested. And carbon fiber reinforced PEEK laminates are resistance welded using stainless steel mesh heating element. The effects of the welding time and welding pressure on the lap shear strength of joints are investigated. Results show that PEEK can heal with PEI well in welding condition and the lap shear strength of PEEK/CF(carbon fibre) joint increases linearly with welding time, but reaches a maximum value when welding pressure ranging from 0.3 MPa to 0.5 MPa with constant welding time. The fracture characteristics of surface are analyzed by SEM techniques, and four types of fracture modes of lap shear joints are suggested.     

Evaluation of drilling parameters on thrust force in drilling carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates using compound core-special drills

Drilling is the mostly used secondary machining of the fiber reinforced composite laminates, while the delamination occurs frequently at the drill exit in the workpiece. In the industrial experiences, core drill shows better drilling quality than twist drill. However, chip removal is a troublesome problem when using the core drill. Conventional compound core-special drills (core-special drills and step-core-special drills) are designed to avoid the chip removal clog in drilling. But the cutting velocity ratio (relative motion) between outer drill and inner drill is null for conventional compound core-special drills. The current study develops a new device and to solve the problems of relative motion and chip removal between the outer and inner drills in drilling CFRP composite laminates. In addition, this study investigates the influence of drilling parameters (cutting velocity ratio, feed rate, stretch, inner drill type and inner drill diameter) on thrust force of compound core-special drills. An innovative device can be consulted in application of compound core-special drill in different industries in the future.     

Anisotropy in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and its effect on induction thermography

Lock-in induction thermography was carried out on uniaxial, biaxial, and multi-ply woven carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) at an induction frequency of approximately 300 kHz and at modulation frequencies of 0.4–36 Hz to detect defects in them. The measurements were performed in reflection and transmission modes. In the uniaxial material, heating occurred far away from the excitation coil. Lines of minimal heating were observed. The modulation frequency dependence of the amplitude showed an inverse proportionality, indicating volume heating. The multi-ply woven CFRP plates with impacts of 3 and 5 J showed distinct contrast because of cracked fibers. The results were compared with those obtained using optically excited thermography and X-ray tomography.     

Some experimental investigations in the drilling of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates

In this paper, a concept of delamination factor F_d (i.e. the ratio of the maximum diameter D_max in the damage zone to the hole diameter D) is proposed to analyze and compare easily the delamination degree in the drilling of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates. Experiments were performed to investigate the variations of cutting forces with or without onset of delamination during the drilling operations. The effects of tool geometry and drilling parameters on cutting force variations in CFRP composite materials drilling were also experimentally examined. The experimental results show that the delamination-free drilling processes may be obtained by the proper selections of tool geometry and drilling parameters. The effects of drilling parameters and tool wear on delamination factor are also presented and discussed.Cutting temperature has long been recognized as an important factor influencing the tool wear rate and tool life. An experimental investigation of flank surface temperatures is also presented in this paper. Experimental results indicated that the flank surface temperatures increase with increasing cutting speed but decreasing feed rate. Optimal cutting conditions are proposed to avoid damage from burning during the drilling processes.     

电镀金刚石钻头钻削碳纤维复合材料研究

碳纤维复合材料钻孔加工时极易产生分层、毛刺、撕裂等缺陷,是典型的难加工材料。针对碳纤维复合材料特点,以电镀金刚石钻头为研究对象,从钻削轴向力、钻孔出口质量等方面分析电镀金刚石钻头钻孔特点,并与硬质合金麻花钻进行对比,得出结论：电镀金刚石钻头钻削碳纤维复合材料时钻削轴向力较小,钻削质量较好,更适合于碳纤维复合材料的加工;钻头转速提高有利于减小钻孔缺陷的产生,钻削轴向力随钻头转速的升高而降低,随钻头直径的增大而增大;最后,通过多元线形回归方法得出电镀金刚石钻头钻削力经验公式。     

Thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of pitch-based carbon fibre reinforced aluminium composites fabricated by squeeze casting

Pure aluminium and high-silicon aluminium alloy were reinforced with the discontinuous pitch-based carbon fibres by squeeze casting, then the thermal conductivity and the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. Optical microscopy revealed that the fibres were in a random planar arrangement, and the transmission electron microscopy revealed that there is no interfacial reaction between the matrices and the fibres. The random planar arrangement of the fibres leads to the anisotropy of the composite. The fibre-reinforcement increased the thermal conductivity in the parallel direction for both pure aluminium and its alloy matrices, while the thermal conductivity decreased in the vertical direction. The increase in the elastic modulus by the reinforcement was not observed for both matrices. The proof stress of the pure aluminium increased by the reinforcement especially in the parallel direction, while that of the high-silicon alloy decreased by the reinforcement.     

Feasibility study of the rotary ultrasonic elliptical machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP)

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used for various aircraft structural components because of their superior mechanical and physical properties such as high specific strength, high specific stiffness, etc. However, when CFRP are machined, rapid tool wear and delamination are troublesome. Therefore, cost effective and excellent quality machining of CFRP remains a challenge. In this paper, the rotary ultrasonic elliptical machining (RUEM) using core drill is proposed for drilling of holes on CFRP panels. This method combines advantages of core-drill and elliptical tool vibration towards achieving better quality, delamination free holes. The cutting force model and chip-removal phenomenon in ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting are introduced and analyzed. The feasibility to machine CFRP for RUEM is verified experimentally. The results demonstrate that compared to conventional drilling (CD), the chip-removal rate has been improved, tool wear is reduced, precision and surface quality around holes is enhanced, delamination at hole exits has been prevented and significant reduction in cutting force has been achieved.     

Evolution of the health of concrete structures by electrically conductive GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) composites

The function and performance of self-diagnostic composites embedded in concrete blocks and piles were investigated by bending tests and electrical resistance measurement. Carbon powder (CP) and carbon fiber (CF) were introduced into glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites to provide electrical conductivity. The CPGFRP composite displays generally good performance in various bending tests of concrete block and piles compared to the CFGFRP composite. The electrical resistance of the CPGFRP composite increases remarkably at small strains in response to microcrack formation at about 200 μm strain, and can be used to detect smaller deformations before crack formation. The CPGFRP composite shows continuous change in resistance up to a large strain level just before the final fracture for concrete structures reinforced by steel bars. It is concluded that self-diagnostic composites can be used to predict damage and fracture in concrete blocks and piles.     

Investigation of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheet with subsurface defects inspection using thermal-wave radar imaging (TWRI) based on the multi-transform technique

A combined theoretical and experimental approach is reported using thermal-wave radar imaging (TRWI) for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) with subsurface defects inspection. The multi-transform technique (Fourier transform, FT; Hilbert transform, HT; and cross-correlation, CC) is applied to extract the characteristics of thermal-wave signal. Experimental results indicate that the multi-transform technique of thermal-wave signal is available for detecting the subsurface defect. For the shallow defect (defect depth ≤1 mm), the delay time image of CC exhibits high contrast, and the phase image of FT has high SNR at the right frequency component. For the deep defect (defect depth 2.0 mm), the phase images of HT have both high contrast and large SNR value.     

Supercapacitor performance of porous carbon nanofiber composites prepared by electrospinning polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) blend solutions

Porous carbon nanofiber composites (NFCs) were prepared by electrospinning blended solutions of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). A PMHS concentration of 5 wt% was regarded as the optimum concentration to obtain fibers of a uniform size with a homogeneous dispersion of silica, the maximum specific surface area and the highest conductivity (4.91 S cm^?1) after heat treatment at 800 °C. The supercapacitor electrode prepared with 5 wt% PMHS had the highest specific capacitance, 126.86 F/g, and the highest energy density, 17.0–10.0 Wh/kg, in the range of 400–20,000 W/kg in a 6 M KOH aqueous solution.     

Analysis and prediction of laser cutting parameters of fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) composite materials

A theoretical model is presented considering the spatial distribution of the laser beam, interaction time between the laser and the work material, absorption coefficient of the laser beam at the laser wavelength and the thermal properties of the material. It is assumed that the laser energy is absorbed through the entire thickness of the material. The developed model predicts the various parameters in laser cutting of composite materials such as kerf width at the entry and at the exit, material removal rate and energy transmitted through the cut kerf. The theoretical analysis also determines the position of the beam with respect to the cutting front. Experiments for different laser and material combinations to evaluate the effects of cutting parameters on the cut quality were carried out to compare with the predicted results. The results obtained show very good agreement.     

Preparation and ablation properties of Hf(Ta)C co-deposition coating for carbon/carbon composites

Continuous, uniform Hf(Ta)C coating was co-deposited on carbon/carbon composites by chemical vapor deposition. The phase composition, microstructure and ablation properties of the Hf(Ta)C coating are investigated. Results show that the as-prepared coating is a biphasic coating consisting of HfC and HfTaC₂. The particle-stacked structure is effective to produce a crack free Hf(Ta)C coating and good adhesion between the coating and C/C composites. The Hf(Ta)C coating can effectively protect C/C composites from ablation. After 60 s ablation, the mass and linear ablation rates of coated sample are 0.01 ± 0.02 mg cm⁻² s⁻¹ and 0.46 ± 0.02 μm s⁻¹, respectively.     

Electrochemical preparation and characterization of carbon fiber reinforced poly(dimethylsiloxane)/polythiophene composites: electrical,thermal and mechanical properties

A series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polythiophene (Pth)/carbon fiber (CF) composites was synthesized by electrochemical polymerization using tetrabutylammoniumtetrafluoroborate (TBAFB) as supporting electrolyte and acetonitrile as solvent. Composites were characterized by TGA, SEM, and mechanical tests and conductivity measurements. Conductivities of composites were in the range of 2–5 S/cm. SEM studies show that CF were coated by PDMS/Pth matrix and well oriented in the matrix. In mechanical tests it has been observed that higher percent elongation was obtained by increasing PDMS content whereas tensile strength and modulus of composites increases with increasing CF content.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube nucleated crystallization and reinforcement in poly (vinyl alcohol) composites

One of the fastest growing areas of nanotube research is the study of polymer-nanotube composite materials. These materials utilize the excellent strength of carbon nanotubes that has been evident but difficult to harness in the past and show impressive increases in strength relative to the polymer. It is suspected that many of the physical properties observed in these composites are related to the formation of crystalline polymer coatings around the nanotubes in solution. The work presented here addresses this issue by doping a semi-crystalline polymer, poly (vinyl alcohol), with multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) measurements of thin films identified a three- to five-fold increase in the Young's modulus of the polymer depending on nanotube type. Dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of thin films shows that the increase in modulus is accompanied by an increase in polymer crystallinity. In addition, the results verify that multiwalled carbon nanotubes nucleate crystallization of the polymer and a link between polymer crystallinity and composite reinforcement is established. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirm an excellent dispersion and wetting of the nanotubes in the polymer solution providing visual evidence of matrix reinforcement.