Abstract
This paper aims at investigating the temperature effects during abrasive milling of glass fiber reinforced plastic composites (GFRP). A 3D thermal model using volumetric heat source with Gaussian distributed cylindrical flux was developed as DFLUX subroutine and implemented into Abaqus/Standard code. The model employs linear power law for simulating the temperature variation during tool advance. The composite plate is made of glass fibers oriented perpendicular to the tool trajectory. The tool feed was simulated by the source constant motion while speed was taken variable. Four equidistant thermocouples were simulated within the medium plan of the specimen in order to record the temperature evolution. The predictions highlighted the sensitivity of temperature histories to cutting speed. The conductivity and heat capacity played for controlling heating and cooling phases of the curves. The peak temperature exhibited maximum value at TC3 irrespective to speed value. The pure thermal analysis showed sufficient ability to predict the heat affected zone in the GFRP, which is, in turn, a function of tool spindle speed.