The effect of particle reinforcements on chip formation and machining induced damage of modified epoxy carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs)

The epoxy matrix of a carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) was modified by addition of silica nanoparticles, rubber microparticles and a combination of both to determine the effect of particle reinforcements on chip formation and machining induced damage. The effect of epoxy particle reinforcement on the machinability of CFRPs was studied experimentally under orthogonal cutting conditions. The results show that the chip formation process is affected by the presence of particulate fillers regardless of individual ply fibre orientation. Subsequently, the measured cutting forces showed a representative behaviour for each particle type and concentration. Rubber modified samples showed the lowest subsurface damage and measured surface metrics, followed by silica and unmodified epoxy samples. This behaviour was linked with the toughening mechanism of rubber and silica particles, which was found to take place during the material removal process.