Surface grinding of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) with an internal coolant supplied through grinding wheel

Abstract Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is widely used in the aerospace industry due to its high specific strength and elastic modulus. When cutting CFRP with tools such as an endmill, problems such as severe tool wear, delamination, and burrs in the CFRP can arise. Grinding, on the other hand, is supposed to improve the quality of the machined surface and tool life, according to its machining property. However, the amount of heat generated during grinding is still a considerable problem in that it is significantly higher than the temperature with conventional cutting. In order to achieve the high performance machining of CFRP, this study aims to show the effect of supplying an internal coolant through the grinding wheel on the surface of the CFRP. Face grinding of CFRP using a cup-type grinding wheel was conducted. Vitrified aluminum oxide grinding wheel was used. Three different coolant supply systems were tested: dry grinding, coolant supply using an external nozzle, and coolant supplied internally through the grinding wheel. The results showed that matrix resin loading on grinding wheel was significantly reduced by the internal coolant supply. Hence, the grains of the grinding wheel were able to cut the fibers sharply, without delamination or burr formation on the ground surface, and surface roughness was reduced compared to the machined surface with endmill. The internal coolant supplied through the grinding wheel showed greater cooling ability, and markedly reduced grinding temperature, keeping it lower than the glass-transition temperature of the matrix epoxy resin of CFRP. Because the coolant was supplied to the grinding point directly through pores in the grinding wheel, chips were eliminated from the pores, and coolant supply was sufficient to cool the ground surface.