Issue 48

S. E. Oliveira et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 48 (2019Y) 249-256; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.48.26 249 Focused on the “Portuguese contributions for Structural Integrity” Effect of machining parameters on the mechanical properties of high dosage short –carbon- fiber reinforced composites S. E. Oliveira, J.A.M. Ferreira, J. da Silva CEMMPRE, University of Coimbra, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Portugal uc2014184149.seo@outlook.com, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2749-2717 martins.ferreira@dem.uc.pt , http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0295-1841 joel.jesus@uc.pt , http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7133-2331 C. Capela Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, ESTG, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Portugal ccapela@ipleiria.pt, http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3334-4945 A BSTRACT . The machinability of polymer matrix composites with fibers strongly depends on the type of fiber and dosage in question, having a high influence on the selection of tools and cutting parameters. The cutting temperature depends of rotation speed and the feed cutting tools and is significantly influencing on the quality of the machined surfaces and tool life. This paper presents the results of a current study concerning the effect of the rotation-cutting speed on the cutting temperature, roughness and tensile strength of short carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites, potentially used in automotive and aeronautic industries. Composite plates were manufactured by compression molding, using short carbon fibers with 0.5 mm and 6 mm length. The increasing of the rotation-cutting speed increases significantly the temperature generated in the tool and slightly increases surface roughness. Tensile strength and Young´s modulus are little sensitive to drilling speed. However, above 3000 rpm it was observed significant loss of stiffness, associated with the developed temperature in the machining process. K EYWORDS . Mechanical properties; Short fiber composites; Machinability of composites. Citation: Oliveira, S. E., Ferreira, J.A.M., Capela, C., da Silva, J., Effect of machining parameters on the mechanical properties of high dosage short –carbon- fiber reinforced composites, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 48 (2019) 249-256. Received: 14.09.2018 Accepted: 24.10.2018 Published: 01.01.2019 Copyright: © 2019 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I NTRODUCTION olymer Matrix Composites are widely used in the manufacture of components for engineering applications [1,2]. In particular, short-fiber Reinforcement Polymer (SFRP) composites are easy to manufacture, have low production costs and good mechanical properties. In general, the addition of short fibers in a polymer matrix aims to obtain P