Integrating Fiber Loading Effects in Mechanistic Force Model for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites

Cutting forces during the end milling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites can be used to analyze process mechanics, material behavior, and resultant surface quality. Mechanistic model is preferred among various approaches presented in the literature to predict cutting forces. It transforms element-level tool-work material interactions in the tangential and radial frame to determine global cutting force. The model requires establishing empirical relationships linking process geometry and cutting constants determined using measured forces. The information captured using measured forces in the global frame implicitly represents cutting mechanics, and a practical approach distinctly representing cutting action is essential during the end milling of CFRP. The proposed approach captures complex intermittent tool-fiber interactions using local axial and transverse loads specific to CFRP composites. It introduces local fiber loading effects in the Mechanistic force model through axial and transverse cutting constants. The explicit representation of new constants is established using a symbolic regression (SR)-based approach. The prediction abilities of the proposed approach are corroborated by comparing predictions of the proposed approach with the Neural Network (NN)-based model and experimentally measured forces. The results show robust prediction abilities of the proposed approach over diverse cutting conditions.