Effect of Hygrothermal Conditioning on the Machining Behavior of Biocomposites

This work aims to study the cutting behavior of biocomposites under different controlled hygrothermal conditions. This investigation choice is motivated by the fact that natural plant fibers such as flax are characterized by their hydrophilicity which makes them able to absorb water from a humid environment. This absorption ability is intensified by increasing the conditioning temperature. The moisture diffusion process affects considerably the mechanical properties of the resulting composite, which causes many issues during the machining operations. In this paper, moisture diffusion, chip form, cutting and thrust forces, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations are considered to explore the cutting behavior of flax fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) depending on the hygrothermal conditioning time. Results reveal that moisture content in the biocomposite is significantly influenced by the conditioning temperature and the fiber orientation. Moisture content and fiber orientation affect both the curling behavior of the removed chip as well as the tool/chip interaction in terms of friction. The machinability of flax fiber-reinforced PLA biocomposites depending on hygrothermal conditioning time is then investigated using SEM analysis in addition to analytical modeling. An analysis of variance is used finally to quantify the observed results.