Study on drilling of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stack with modified twist drills using acoustic emission technique

Abstract

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) and Titanium Alloy (Ti6Al4V) stack, extensively used in aerospace structural components are assembled by fasteners and the holes are made using drilling process. Drilling of stack in one shot is a complicated process due to dissimilarity in the material properties. It is vital to have optimal machining condition and tool geometry for better hole quality and tool life. In this study the tool wear and hole quality were analysed by experimental analysis using three modified twist drills and online tool condition monitoring using Acoustics Emission (AE) sensor. Helix angle and point angle influence tool performance and cutting force. It was found that a tool geometry (TG1) with high helix angle of 35°with low point angle 130° results in reduction in thrust force of 150-500 N range but the TG2 also perform almost similar to TG1, but when compared with the AErms voltage generated during drilling it was found that progressive rise in voltage in TG1 is less with respect to TG2 which can be attributed to tool life. In process wear monitoring was done using crest factor as monitoring index. AErms voltage were measured and correlated with the performance of the drills.