Optimization of Process Parameters in Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Vinylester Composite Having Varying Fiber Orientations Using Taguchi Methodology

Abstract

The main objective of the study is to analyze the influence of drilling parameters (cutting speed, feed rate), fiber orientations, tool type (twist drill, saw drill) and tool diameter on thrust forces, torque, surface roughness and delamination factor during drilling operation of carbon fiber reinforced vinylester composite (CFRVC). Unidirectional carbon fibers are used as reinforcement phase in vinylester matrix to prepare three different types of composite samples having varying ply orientation angle (0°, 0°, 0°, 0), (0°, 90°, 0°, 90°) and (0°, +45°, −45°, 90°). Taguchi optimization technique is adopted for experimental design (mixed array) along with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate the effect of process parameters on the performance outputs. Experimental outcomes showed that in case of twist drill, the cutting forces are comparatively low, whereas the quality of the hole is better using saw drill. Cutting forces are significantly influenced by drill type, drill diameter and cutting speed. Fiber orientation had shown a significant effect on the quality of holes.KeywordsCFRVCDrillingFiber orientationsThrust forcesTorqueDelamination factorSurface roughness