Julián Luis Merino Pérez

I conducted my undergraduate studies at Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), where I graduated with Technical Industrial Engineering, specialisation in Mechanical Engineering (2009); and Materials Engineering, specialisation in Composite Materials (2011).

Straightaway, I joined the EngD program at The University of Sheffield through the IDC in Machining Science, which would allow me to carry out a doctoral research at the highest level and acquire working experience at the same time.

The aim of my doctoral research, sponsored by Sandvik Coromant (http://coromant.sandvik.com/), is to clarify the effect of resin on tool wear in machining carbon fibre reinforced plastic composites. So far, the abrasiveness of the CFRP system has been mainly attributed to the reinforcement (the carbon fibres). However, remarkable differences in tool life and tool wear have been measured in machining systems featuring exactly the same reinforcement (quantity, type and lay out) and different matrices (resins).

My work consists, by providing scientific evidence, in determine the type of wear mechanisms occurring on the tool, whether or not exists is a chemical wear component, investigate the temperatures developed during the drilling operation, study the applicability of a model to predict the tool life and develop a coating or coatings that minimize the tool wear.

The successful completion of my investigation will provide Sandvik Coromant not only with a solid scientific knowledge but also with an important industrial advantage ahead its competitors, which will ultimately result in a higher machining quality and a reduction of costs by increasing the tool life and decreasing the tool replacement time for the final customer.

#MACHINING

#DRILLING

#COMPOSITES

#CARBON FIBRE

#RESIN

#PMC

#THERMOSET

#CFRP

#TOOL WEAR

#TOOL LIFE