Drilling of woven glass fiber-reinforced plastic - an experimental and finite element study

摘要

Drilling in woven fiber-reinforced plastics is a well-known practice in modern-day manufacturing. The high fracture toughness of woven fiber-based composites over unidirectional counterparts is increasing demand in aviation and electronics industries. Hence, failure of these materials at harsh environments is a matter of concern. Very few numerical studies on drilling of these composites have been carried out; hence, the present scope may be considered as a trial de novo. Delamination was studied in the present work at different feed-speed combinations. Drilling responses were estimated using finite element as a numerical simulation tool. An equivalent elastic macromechanical model was assumed for the woven composite workpiece. A 3D drill bit was modeled using commercial CAD package Pro-Engineer and Ansys Autodyn was used as the solver environment. The simulation and validation experiments were carried out at planned feed-speed combinations. The effect of process parameters on exit and entry delamination is also documented. The thrust determined by finite element techniques showed good prediction with the experimental results.