Taguchi Analysis of the Thrust Force and Delamination in Drilling of Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy/Clay Nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract

Composites are replacing several materials due to their superior properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness to weight ratio, better impact characteristics, corrosion resistance and design flexibility. Drilling is often required to facilitate the assembly of the parts to get the final product. However, drilling induced damage affects the quality of the drilled components. The present investigation is an attempt to study the effect of the cutting speed, the feed rate, the drill material, drill diameter and dispersion of clay in epoxy on the responses such as thrust force and delamination factor at entry and exit. The Taguchi method suggests the optimal conditions for minimum thrust force and delamination factor in drilling of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) confirmed that delamination at the exit is greater than delamination at the entry. It was found that there was a remarkable decrease in the residual tensile strengths as the hole size increased compared to the strength of the specimen without any hole.

Keywords: Drilling, scanning electron microscope (SEM), glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP)