Cutting Processes of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Abstract

Recently, natural fiber-reinforced polymers (NFRPs) have become important materials in many engineering applications; thus, to employ these materials some final industrial processes are needed, such as cutting, trimming, and drilling. Because of the heterogeneous nature of NFRPs, which differs from homogeneous materials such as metals and polymers, several defects have emerged when processing the NFRPs through traditional cutting methods such as high surface roughness and material damage at cutting zone. In order to overcome these challenges, unconventional cutting methods were considered. Unconventional cutting methods did not take into account the effects of cutting forces, which are the main cause of cutting defects in traditional cutting processes. The most prominent unconventional cutting processes are abrasive waterjet (AWJM) and laser beam (LBM) cutting technologies, which are actually applied for cutting various NFRPs. In this study, previously significant studies on cutting NFRPs by AWJM and LBM are discussed. The surface roughness, kerf taper, and heat-affected zone (HAZ) represent the target output parameters that are influenced and controlled by the input parameters of each process. However, this topic requires further studies on widening the range of material thickness and input parameter values.

Experimental Analysis of Kerf Taper Angle in Cutting Process of Sugar Palm Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Composites with Laser Beam and Abrasive Water Jet Cutting Technologies

“…They also have certain other advantages, such as low density, low cost, enhanced recovery, and flexibility [ 6 , 7 ]. Owing to the mentioned benefits, natural fibers have attracted a lot of attention in the advanced polymeric composites field for a variety of engineering applications as a reinforcement material for a broad spectrum of matrices [ 8 , 9 ]. Although composites are formed close to near-net shape, final processes such as drilling, cutting, trimming, and profiling are still required [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Experimental Analysis of Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ) in Laser Cutting of Sugar Palm Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Composites

“…The laser beam was focused using a 7.5” focal length lens, the focal point was on the top surface of the specimen, the nozzle diameter was 2 mm, the nozzle stand-off-distance was 1.5 mm, and air was used as the assist gas. Laser power, traverse speed, and assist gas pressure were chosen as the input parameters as they showed a considerable influence on the HAZ [ 5 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The other parameters were fixed, such as nozzle diameter focal length and nozzle stand-off distance.…”

“…However, in recent times, natural fibers have been used in important industries, such as the manufacturing of composites, where they have been employed as materials to reinforce a wide range of matrices, whether synthetic polymers or polymers of natural origin [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The use of natural fibers has contributed in one way or another to the production of partially or completely environmentally friendly composite materials as alternative reinforcing materials for synthetic fibers, contributing to energy saving and reducing the use of environmentally unfriendly synthetic materials [ 5 ]. Natural fibers are also used in some applications that employ natural fibers to reinforce biopolymers that can degrade naturally; they contribute to the production of totally environmentally friendly materials that have become widespread, such as alternative packaging materials [ 6 ].…”

“…Limited studies have been conducted with the aim of improving the HAZ of natural fiber-reinforced composites (NFRPs), which limits the possibility of generalizing the results of these studies to other types of NFRPs, especially as the results are strictly affected by the types of fibers and matrices in addition to the type of input parameters and their range [ 5 ]. Tamrin et al [ 22 ] evaluated the HAZ as a response to input parameters, including laser power, traverse speed, stand-off- distance, and the number of beam passes.…”

Thermo-Mechanical and Delamination Properties in Drilling GFRP Composites by Various Drill Angles

“…Machining of composite, especially drilling, is considered one of the essential operations to assemble different components in industries, needs machining with perfect hole quality and quick cycle time. Composite drilling differs from metal drilling because of fiber breakage and debonding, microcracking, matrix burning, delamination, and deterioration of the surface integrity [ 4 , 5 ].…”