Temperature field due to a moving heat source in machining orthotropic composites with arbitrary fiber orientation

Abstract

Milling of fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) is challenging with respect to surface integrity and tool wear due to high process temperatures. The maximum temperatures occurring in the workpiece determine the extent of the matrix decomposition area. Improving the workpiece quality therefore requires an understanding of its internal temperature distribution during milling. However, steep temperature gradients and high mechanical stress make measurements of temperature fields in the cutting zone difficult. In addition, thermal properties change depending on the fiber orientation in the case of orthotropic FRP.In this paper, an existing model describing the temperature field for isotropic materials is extended to unidirectional, orthotropic FRP. Here, the thermal impact of an end mill upon the machined surface is represented by a strip-shaped heat source which moves with the feed velocity along a semi-infinite space. Starting with the temperature field of an instantaneous point source, multiple integration steps and a coordinate transformation lead to the temperature field of the moving strip source for orthotropic materials with arbitrary fiber orientation.Using this analytical approach, two-dimensional temperature fields within the workpiece can be calculated for various feed velocities, heat source widths and fiber orientation angles. A cross verification of the analytical solution is successfully carried out by comparing it to a numerical simulation. Furthermore, temperature measurements during end milling of carbon fiber reinforced plastics using thermocouples confirm these results for different fiber orientations.The derived model can be applied to a variety of heat flow problems relevant for orthotropic materials, e.g. other machining technologies.