Determination of head transmission parameters in laser machined carbon fiber composites

Laser cutting and machining promotes the appearance of the heat affected zone (HAZ) due to the high temperatures reached by machined materials. An analytical simulation of the process allowed understanding the role of the carbon fiber direction in the thermal damage of the resin matrix. Carbon fiber laser cutting has been carried out with a CO2 high power laser. The modellization, corroborated by experimental results, shows that the mechanism is strongly influenced by fiber orientation, being longer the HAZ extend for perpendicular fibers.