Finite analysis of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer delamination damage during multi-pass milling

Multi-pass milling strategies are commonly used to minimize damage during carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite processing. However, to the best of our knowledge, most existing studies have not included the study of CFRP multi-pass milling strategies. This study established a three-dimensional CFRP multi-pass milling finite element model. CFRP’s delamination damage was compared and analyzed when single-pass and multi-pass milling strategies were used, and the process parameters were optimized for the multi-pass milling process of CFRP. Results demonstrate the accuracy of the CFRP’s multi-pass milling finite element analysis model. When the same total radial cut depth is used, the CFRP delamination damage can be reduced by more than 30% using the multi-pass milling strategy compared with the single-pass milling strategy. The radial cut depth for the second milling should be less than 0.6 mm in the multi-pass milling process to minimize the CFRP delamination damage.