CRYOGENIC DRILLING OF CARBON FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE (CFRP)

In order to reduce the adverse effects on the environment and economy and to avoid health problems caused by the excessively used cutting lubrications, cryogenic machining is drawing more and more attention. In this work, a novel cryogenic machining approach was applied for drilling of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs). According to this approach, CFRP was dipped into the liquid nitrogen (LN2) and it was machined within the cryogenic coolant directly. Various machinability characteristics on thrust force, delamination damage, tool wear, surface roughness, and topography were compared with those obtained with dry condition. This experimental study revealed that the novel method of machining with cryogenic dipping significantly reduced tool wear and surface roughness but increased thrust force. Overall results showed that the cryogenic machining approach in this study improved the machinability of CFRP.