Investigation of the Electro-Discharge Open-Hole Machining on the Structural Behavior of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers

Abstract

The current work investigates the electro-discharge machining (EDM) of plain woven carbon reinforced polymer composites with pulse durations of 100 μs, 200 μs, 300 μs, currents 1 A, 3 A and 5 A, and a voltage of 100 V. An x-ray computed tomography (CT) is employed to examine the delaminations, while a delamination factor model utilizing the equivalent delamination diameter provides the measuring quantity for assessment. Finite element simulations compute the stress concentrations around the holes by taking into account the delamination equivalent diameters of the open-holes, as monitored from the x-ray CT. The Whitney-Nuismer point stress criterion is utilised in order to predict the failure strength of the machined open-hole laminates and it is compared with the experimentally derived mechanical strength values. The results reveal that EDM is a feasible method for open-hole machining of composites, however proper selection of the operational parameters is needed. By accurately measuring the peripheral delamination areas of the machined holes, it is shown that the analysis of the mechanical behaviour of the plain woven laminates by the means of finite element method and the Whitney-Nuismer criterion can accurately predict the response of such composites when subjected to tensile loads.