Title: An experimental and statistical study on the effect of drill geometries on force and hole quality in drilling of glass fibre reinforced plastic

Authors: V. Krishnaraj, S. Vijayarangan, J. Paulo Davim

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641 004, India. ' Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Campus Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

Abstract: Aircraft manufacturing involves drilling of large number of holes, in which the joint can be critically affected by the quality of the hole. Effect of drill geometry on drilling of glass/epoxy laminates using twist, Zhirov and Multifaceted Drills (MFD), has been studied. The thrust force and hole quality were compared for each drill geometry. Zhirov drill cuts the hole with less force and best surface finish. MFD produces less delamination when compared with the other geometries. ANOVA was used to study the effect of drill geometries, spindle speed, and feed rate on thrust force, surface finish and delamination factor.

Keywords: GFRP laminates; drill geometry; hole quality; ANOVA; analysis of variance; ANOVA; glass fibre reinforced plastics; GFRP composites; drilling composites; aircraft manufacturing; thrust force; surface finish; delamination; drill geometries; spindle speed; feed rate.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2008.018985

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2008 Vol.32 No.2/3, pp.264 - 275

Published online: 27 Jun 2008 *

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