A study of surface integrity in carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites cutting with the coupling effect of the multiple machining parameters

In the paper, a three-dimensional (3D) micromechanical numerical cutting model with three phases was developed to study the surface integrity in cutting of Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. The surface roughness and the depth of subsurface damage were predicted by using the numerical model, which were used to characterize the surface integrity. The machined surface observations and surface roughness measurements of CFRP composites at different fiber orientations were also performed for model validation. It is indicated that the 3D micromechanical cutting model is capable of precisely predicting the surface integrity of CFRP composites. To investigate the complex coupling influences of multiple machining parameters on the surface integrity, the factor analysis of multiple machining parameters was performed, and then the effects of these machining parameters on the surface roughness and subsurface damage depth were obtained quantitatively. It was found that the coupling effect of fiber orientation and cutting speed are the most significant factors to affect the surface roughness with the contribution rate of 4.8%, and the interaction between fiber orientation and edge radius has the most important effect on the subsurface damage depth with the rate of 5%. The results also reveal that coupling effects of cutting speed and rake angle should be considered for improving the surface integrity of CFRP composites.