Numerical investigation on orthogonal cutting and damage response of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks

CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks are widely employed in aerospace, automotive and marine applications owing to their superior properties. However, machining these stacked structures pose challenges due to the intrinsic difference in the mechanical properties of CFRP and Ti6Al4V. Such difference can induce distinct failure mechanisms and chip formation processes compared to those observed in individual materials. This paper presents an explicit finite element (FE) modeling to predict the cutting forces and analyze the induced damage during the orthogonal cutting process. The proposed FE model is validated using available experimental data for separate CFRP and Ti6Al4V conditions before being applied to simulate the cutting behavior of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks. The effects of fiber angles, cutting sequences and cutting parameters on the cutting performance and damage mechanism of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks are investigated in detail. This work provides insights into the cutting behavior of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks and facilitates the optimization of machining process for such composite system.