A Comparative Study on the Effect of Milling and Abrasive Water Jet Cutting Technologies on the Tensile Behavior of Composite Carbon/Epoxy Laminates

Tensile tests of composite materials based on carbonfiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) have been performed to benchmark the impact of action of abrasive water jet (AWJ) and high-speed milling (HSM) on the stiffness and strength of CFRP laminates. CFRP specimens were tested according to the ASTM D3039 and ASTM D5766. The drilled specimens exhibited a linear behavior up to failure, but their stress–strain relation was pronouncedly nonlinear, with higher tensile strains than nondrilled ones. Results showed that ultimate the stress–strain relation and Young’s modulus were affected by the machining process. The stress and strain limits for samples prepared using the AWJ method were higher than for those machined by HSM, but the opposite effect was observed for Young’s modulus.