Evaluation of drilling performances of nanocomposites reinforced with graphene and graphene oxide

The use of graphene (G) and graphene oxide (GO) reinforced nanocomposites have a great importance since G and GO improve the interface conditions of composite materials. However, the effects of G and GO on some mechanical properties and machinability in nanocomposites are still a research topic. In this study, G was converted to GO by Hummers' method. G and GO nanoparticles were added to epoxy at different ratios and the tensile strengths of nanocomposites were determined. By taking into account, the reinforcement ratio of nanocomposites having the highest tensile strength, epoxy with G and GO, and unreinforced epoxy were added to carbon fiber (CF) fabric by hand lay-up. Thus, fabrication of the carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite, and the G/CFRP and GO/CFRP nanocomposites was carried out. The effects of the G and GO on the fabricated nanocomposites, and the effect of different drilling parameters (cutting speed and feed rate) on the cutting force, cutting torque, temperature, and delamination factor were investigated. In the drilling of these composites, drills with the different bit point angles and the diameter of 5mm were used. As a result, it was observed that GO was successfully synthesized, and G and GO positively affected the tensile strength, and GO exhibited a more effective feature than G on the tensile strength. It was also seen that the increase of the cutting speed, feed rate, bit point angle caused the increase in the cutting forces, cutting torque, and delaminations.