Optimization of drilling process parameters on delamination factor of Jute reinforced unsaturated polyester composite using Box-Behnken design of experiment

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation on the influence of the drilling parameters such as feed rate, spindle speed and drill tool diameter onto the delamination factor of the jute reinforced unsaturated polyester composite. Natural fibre based composite are mostly used for commodity application and often subjected to drilling during applications and may generate delamination of drilled holes on the workpiece. The composite was fabricated using woven jute fibre via vacuum bagging method followed a high temperature curing using hot press. The fibre was kept at 40 vol. %. The main effect and the interaction between the specified factors of feed rate (20-100mm/min), spindle speed (500-1500 rpm) and drill tool diameter (4-8 mm) with delamination factor as corresponding respond was structured via the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on three-level Box-Behnken design of experiment and the ANOVA. The levels of importance of the process parameters on flexural properties are determined by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The optimised drilling process parameters obtained as 24.38 mm/min of feed rate, 1146.14 rpm of spindle speed and 5.51 mm drill tool diameter achieved the most minimal delamination factor. The feed rate and spindle speed were perceived as the most influential drilling parameters on the delamination factor of the jute reinforced unsaturated polyester composite.