Analysis of factors influencing delamination in milling process of glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for delamination through response surface methodology (RSM) and analyse the influences of the entire individual input machining parameters (cutting speed, depth of cut and feed rate) on the responses in milling of glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP) composites with solid carbide end mill cutter coated with polycrystalline diamond (PCD). Design/methodology/approach – Three factors, three levels face-centered central composite design matrix in RSM is employed to carry out the experimental investigation. Shop microscope is used to examine the delamination of GFRP composites. The “Design Expert 8.0” software was used for regression and graphical analysis of the data collected. Analysis of variance is used to check the validity of the model and for finding the significant parameters. Findings – The developed second-order response surface model is used to calculate the delamination of the machined surfaces at different cutting conditions with the chosen range of 95 per cent confidence intervals. Analysis of the influences of the entire individual input machining parameters on the delamination has been carried out using RSM. Originality/value – Influence of solid carbide end mill coated with PCD on delamination of bi-directional GFRP composite during milling has not been analysed yet using RSM.