Analysis of surface roughness, temperature, short aging, and residual notched and bearing strengths in supported drilling of thin GFRP composites

Abstract

This study aimed to analysis open‐hole tensile strength, pin-bearing strength, cutting temperature, and surface roughness of drilled thin glass fiber reinforced polymer composites. The specimens were clamped from both sides during drilling operations. The cutting temperature was measured using high resolution infrared camera. Surface roughness was evaluated by seven parameters to identify the most suitable ones. Multiple regression models were developed to predict critical thrust force (CTF), critical feed, and cutting temperature in drilling operations. The measurements indicate that the cutting temperature is higher than the matrix's glass transition temperature and hence, the surface roughness paramaters Ra, Rq and Ry are increased at the maximum cutting conditions by 57%, 51%, and 36% respectively. In contrast, the bearing strength improved by 13%. This peculiar phenomenon was deeply analyzed with the aid of short ageing effects on the post curing, which increase the crosslinking density within the composites and improve the matrix's capacity to efficiently transmit the loads to the reinforcing fibers. For the first time, the optimum cutting conditions were determined based on the optimum short ageing parameters (temperature and time). Supported drilling increases CTF by 23%, which can reduce machining time and manufacturing costs with fewer delamination concerns.