Finite Element Analysis of High-Speed Machining of CFRP Material

In recent time, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used in important applications in aerospace, automobile, sporting equipment’s, biomedical instruments, etc. High-speed machining of this material can regulate the cutting conditions to maximize production output. Investment for this process is at minimal cost which has been the generic aim of manufacturing industries all over the world. In order to accomplish this, Finite Element (FE) models have been developed for critical applications. Such numerical analysis negates the need for exhaustive experimental trials needed to estimate various parameters involving in machining. This has been the reason instrumental in coercing industries to resort to FE analysis for simulating cutting processes. The present work aims to assess and validate the deformation behavior of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite during high speed machining. Orthogonal turning was performed for varied cutting conditions by varying cutting speed and feed at a constant depth of cut. An FE model was constructed using ABAQUS V6.13 and the effective stress–strain response and deformation were analyzed. The simulated results for cutting force, thrust force and feed force showed good correlation with experiments.