Optimizing Multi Characteristics in Drilling of GFRP Composite Using Utility Concept with Taguchi's Approach

Abstract

In the drilling process of chopped glass fibre reinforced polyester composites; the delamination is a major problem. The delamination reduces the structural integrity of the material, results in poor assembly tolerance and has the potential for long term performance deterioration. Surface roughness is also an important aspect of drilling fibre reinforced polyester which can cause high stress on rivets and bolts, leading to failure. In the modern competitive manufacturing scenario, it is very important to optimize the process parameters to arrive at its full utility. In this present study the utility concept has been applied for multi characteristics optimization and identification of the optimal setting condition of process parameters at various relative weightage values of characteristics. Delamination factor and average surface roughness were taken as the measure of performances for this material and feed rate (f), drill diameter (D), spindle speed (N) and material thickness (t) were chosen as drilling parameters. Experiments were conducted based on Taguchi L9 (34) orthogonal array design. Analysis was performed based on utility method varying the importance of quality characteristics or responses in drilling process. The optimal setting of parameters is expected to be useful for process engineers.