Experimental study on micro-drilling of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (UD-CFRP) composite using nano-solid lubrication

Abstract

This paper discusses the experimental characterization of a unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (UD-CFRP) composite using micro-drilling with nano-solid lubrication. In order to improve hole quality and tool wear, the novel nano-solid air spray lubrication technique was proposed and applied to the micro-drilling of UD-CFRP. The customized spray system was developed by mounting a dry lubrication spray module as well as several other devices, such as a water separator and a precision air regulator. Graphene nanoplatelets and multiwall carbon nanotubes were selected as the nano-solid lubricants. In order to evaluate the experimental result, a series of experiments were conducted by considering two kinds of nanoparticles and comparing them with dry and air spray cases. To verify the novel lubrication spray technique, the delamination factor, uncut fiber area, inner surface quality, and tool wear were analyzed. Based on the experimental results, the nano-solid lubrication improves the machinability when drilling the UD-CFRP. Among them, graphene nanoplatelets are more advantageous than multiwall carbon nanotubes for the drilling performance.