Analysis of process parameters involved in drilling of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy clay nanocomposites

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites find application in many fields due to their high specific strength, specific modulus and anticorrosion properties. In order to join different components by using fasteners, drilling operation is performed in composites. Drilling induces several imperfections in structures - Delamination, fiber pullout, matrix cracking, debonding etc. In the present work epoxy modified with Cloisite 30B® nanoclay ( mixed in different concentrations 0.5wt%, 2wt%, 3wt% of resin) and unidirectional carbon fibers are used to manufacture laminates by hand layup method. Taguchi’s des ign of experiment is used to analyze the degradation in properties considering different parameters involved in drilling. The input parameters considered are drill geometry: , feed:, speed: and nanoclay content. The response: Residual tensile strength, bearing strength and delamination are analysed using analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique. The variation in nanoclay concentration and drill geometry have strongly affected the residual tensile strength and the bearing strength. The Delamination in composit es has reduced with the use of twist drill.