Comparison of dry and liquid carbon dioxide cutting conditions based on machining performance and life cycle assessment for end milling GFRP

Abstract

In the present scenario, citizens' concern about environment preservation creates a necessity to mature more ecological and energy-efficient manufacturing processes and materials. The usage of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) is one of the emerging materials to replace the traditional metallic alloys in the automotive and aircraft industries. However, it has been comprehended to arise a sustainable substitute to conventional emulsion-based coolants in machining processes for dropping the destructive effects on the ecosystem without degrading the machining performance. So, in this study, the comparison of the two sustainable cutting fluid approaches, i.e., dry and LCO2, has been presented based on machining performance indicators like temperature, modulus of cutting force, tool wear, surface roughness, power consumption, and life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis for end milling of GFRP. The cutting condition of LCO2 has been found to be superior in terms of machining performance by providing 80% of lower cutting zone temperature, tool wear, 5% lower modulus of cutting force, and reduced surface roughness with 9% lower power consumption that has been observed in the case of LCO2 in comparison with dry machining. However, to compress the CO2 for converting in liquid form, a higher amount of energy and natural resources is consumed resulting in a higher impact on the environment in comparison with dry machining. Considering the 18 impact categories of ReCiPe midpoint (H) 2016, 95% higher values of impacts have been observed in the case of LCO2 in comparison with dry machining.