Friction Model for an Intermediate Orientation and Density of Fibres in Dry Cutting of Composites

This paper discusses a numerical analysis of polymer-matrix composites cutting. Focus is put on the sensitivity of friction to both the fibre orientation and fibre volume fraction. Firstly, a theoretical model based on decomposition technique was proposed for predicting the evolution of friction coefficient with the parameters considered. Secondly, the numerical model was built, for orthogonal cutting configuration and equivalent homogeneous material assumption, using Abaqus/Explit FE code. For enhancing the simulation of chip formation, adaptive mesh technique with kill element option was used in the dynamic explicit analysis. The model assumes plane stress state and orthotropic behaviour. Hashin damage model was considered for simulating the damage initiation mechanisms and material failure modes. The results showed an increase of both the thrust and cutting force with fibre volume fraction. The predictions confirmed the high dependency of chip formation on reinforcement percentage. The advantage of adaptive mesh on predicting the damage localization was further proved.