Analysis of parametric influence on delamination in high-speed drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites

In this paper, the effects of process parameters on delamination during high-speed drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite are presented. The damage caused at the entrance of the drilled hole is characterized by delamination factor, which is evaluated by considering cutting speed, feed rate and point angle as affecting process parameters. The drilling experiments using cemented carbide (K20) twist drills were performed based on full factorial design of experiments with three levels defined for each of the process parameters. The computed values of delamination factor are empirically related to process parameters by developing a second order non-linear regression model based on response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of cutting speed, feed rate and point angle on delamination factor were analyzed using the models by generating response surface plots. The investigations reveal that the delamination tendency decrease with increase in cutting speed. The study also suggests low values of feed rate and point angle combination for reducing the damage. The details of model development and model adequacy test by analysis of variance (ANOVA) are presented in this paper. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.