High-power picosecond laser drilling/machining of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites

AbstractUsing carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding has become a rapidly emerging field. This state-of-the-art review summarises all the recent research advancements in the field of electromagnetic shielding properties of CFRP composites, with exclusive attention paid to experimental work. It focuses on (1) important mechanisms and physical phenomena in the shielding process for anisotropic carbon-fibre composites and (2) shielding performance of CFRP materials as reported in the literature, with important performance-affecting parameters. The key properties which directly influence the shielding performance are identified, the most critical being the carbon-fibre concentration along with length for discontinuous carbon-fibre-filled polymers and the lay-up for continuous carbon-fibre-reinforced composites. The effect of adding conductive inclusions such as metal or carbon nanotubes is also reviewed. It is emphasised that processing conditions are strongly linked with the shielding properties of a composite. This is a first review, which covers all the recent advancements in the field of shielding properties of carbon-fibre-reinforced composites, with detailed analysis of factors influencing these properties and clear distinction between continuous and discontinuous reinforcement. It is shown that CFRP composites make a good candidate as an EMI shielding enclosure material.

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Characterization of a New Dry Drill-Milling Process of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Laminates

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma11081470 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1470 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Alessandra Caggiano ◽

Ilaria Improta ◽

Luigi Nele

Keyword(s):

Carbon Fibre ◽

Tool Path ◽

Current Trend ◽

Milling Process ◽

Peripheral Milling ◽

Reinforced Polymer ◽

Orbital Drilling ◽

Cfrp Composites ◽

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer ◽

Fibre Reinforced Polymer

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites are widely used in aerospace applications that require severe quality parameters. To simplify the assembly operations and reduce the associated costs, the current trend in industry is to optimize the drilling processes. However, the machining of CFRP composites is very challenging compared with metals, and several defect types can be generated by drilling. The emerging process of orbital drilling can greatly reduce the defects associated with the traditional drilling of CFRP, but it is a more complex process requiring careful process parameters selection and it does not allow for the complete elimination of the thrust force responsible for delamination damage. As an alternative to traditional and orbital drilling, this work presents a new hole making process, where the hole is realized by a combination of drilling and peripheral milling performed using the same cutting tool following a novel tool path strategy. An original tool design principle is proposed to realize a new drill-milling tool, made of a first drilling and a subsequent milling portion. Two different tool configurations are experimentally tested to evaluate the performance of the newly-conceived combined drill-milling process. This process is quick and easy, and the experimental results show an improvement in the drilled hole quality.

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