Experimental Study on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites Cutting with Nanosecond Laser

Jihao Xu; Chenghu Jing; Junke Jiao; Shengyuan Sun; Liyuan Sheng; Yuanming Zhang; Hongbo Xia; Kun Zeng

doi:10.3390/ma15196686

Experimental Study on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites Cutting with Nanosecond Laser

Materials (Basel). 2022 Sep 27;15(19):6686. doi: 10.3390/ma15196686.

Authors

Jihao Xu¹, Chenghu Jing¹, Junke Jiao¹, Shengyuan Sun¹, Liyuan Sheng², Yuanming Zhang³, Hongbo Xia¹, Kun Zeng⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
² PKU-HKUST ShenZhen-HongKong Institution, Shenzhen 518057, China.
³ School of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Linyi University, Linyi 276005, China.
⁴ Yangzhou Hanjiang Yangzi Automobile Interior Decoration Co., Ltd., Yangzhou 225009, China.

Abstract

The carbon fiber-reinforced composite (CFRP) has the properties of a high specific strength, low density and excellent corrosion resistance; it has been widely used in aerospace and automobile lightweight manufacturing as an important material. To improve the CFRP cutting quality in the manufacturing process, a nanosecond laser with a wavelength of 532 nm was applied to cut holes with a 2-mm-thick CFRP plate by using laser rotational cutting technology. The influence of different parameters on the heat-affected zone, the cutting surface roughness and the hole taper was explored, and the cutting process parameters were optimized. With the optimized cutting parameters, the minimum value of the heat-affected zone, the cutting surface roughness and the hole taper can be obtained, which are 71.7 μm, 2.68 μm and 0.64°, respectively.

Keywords: carbon fiber reinforced composites; heat affected zone; hole taper; laser cutting; nanosecond laser; surface roughness.

Grants and funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Shenzhen Basic Research projects (JCYJ20200109144604020, JCYJ20200109144608205 and JCYJ20210324120001003) and Yangzhou Hanjiang Science and Technology project (HJZ2021003).