Cutting force modeling in orthogonal cutting of UD-CFRP considering the variable thickness of uncut material

The application of the carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) becomes increasing in aerospace. In this paper, based on the two-parameter elastic foundation model, a representative volume element (RVE) method is used to establish the deflection curve equation of the cutting fiber as the thickness of the uncut material changes. The cutting force prediction model was proposed from the three areas of the chipping area of the rake face, the bounding area of the flank face, and the shearing area of the tool nose. The deformation process of the cutting fiber under different cutting depths was analyzed. The relationship between the uncut material thickness and the fiber deformation length was discussed. The orthogonal cutting experiment of unidirectional carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (UD-CFRP) in the thickness direction was conducted to verify the model. The experimental results show that the relative errors between theoretical and experimental values of the cutting force F y and F x are 8.2 and 1%, respectively, when the cutting depth is 0.025 mm. The theoretical cutting force is in good agreement with the experimental cutting force, which proved the accuracy of the fiber deflection curve model. The deflection curve and the debonding length of the cutting fiber changes with the uncut material thickness under different cutting depths of 0.025, 0.05, and 0.075 mm. In addition, it explains the formation of burrs when the thickness of the uncut material is 0.1 mm.