Production and machinability evaluation of reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles-reinforced polymer composites during abrasive water jet machining process

Graphene-based nanomaterials have recently been used as versatile substances to enhance the overall mechanical properties of polymer composites. The loading of Graphene has significantly enhanced the mechanical strength, which in turn caused challenges with machining and adversely affected the quality and surface characteristics. It is extensively used in the production of high-performance structural components. In this investigation, reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) have been loaded in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) composites and compared to unreinforced CFRP composites. This reveals, rGO nanofiller positively affected tensile and impact strength. This article investigates the Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) performances of rGO-modified CFRP composites after the development of composite samples. The influence of AWJM factors and mathematical correlation between AWJM response characteristics like Kerf Taper Angle (KT°), Volume Removal Rate (VRR), Average Roughness (Ra), and Maximum Delamination Length (Max. DLL) was explored. The process variables considered as Stand-off Distance (SOD), Traverse Rate (TR), and Jet Pressure (JP), on CFRP composite with various rGO weight fractions. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-based statistical technique was utilized to identify the most crucial and optimal conditions during AWJ machining. ANOVA examines the impact of various inputs on the machining performance. While experimentation, the optimal values for AWJM parameters were determined as SOD = 1.0 mm, TR = 300 mm/min, JP = High (≈ 300 MPa), and the 0.5 wt.% rGO/CFRP was found to have KT° (0.879°), VRR (1393.699 mm³/min), Ra (1.716 µm), and Max. DLL (1.146 mm), which provides an aggregate desirability score of 0.886. The findings revealed that the TR and JP were shown to have a more significant effect on the KT°, VRR, and Ra, while the rGO weight fraction was observed to have a substantial consequence on the Max. DLL. Additionally, the microstructural and topological characterizations of the machined surface revealed that defects could be controlled by incorporating rGO nanofiller into the CFRP. The proposed nanocomposite machining aspects could be endorsed for an efficient manufacturing environment.