New Multiscale Approach for Machining Analysis of Natural Fiber Reinforced Bio-Composites

Abstract

Natural fibers are emerging in many industrial sectors to perform eco-friendly materials such as bio-composites. However, machining of natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites remains a complex manufacturing process and the machinability of industrial components underlies a specific approach that involves the multiscale structure of natural fibers. This paper presents first a multiscale method used in machinability rating of NFRP. The fundamentals of the multiscale method are hence applied to experimentally assess the machinability of a complete industrial bio-composite part. Results show that machining NFRP composites requires specific analysis scales that are intimately linked to the natural fibrous structure. The multiscale method can be used to improve the experimental design of NFRP machining and, above all, to determine the optimum process parameters that reflect the multiscale machining characteristics of these bio-based materials.