Delamination assessment of punched holes on laminated composite panels based on the profile measurement technique

Assembly for a structural material such as a composite panel cannot be avoided. Typically, composite panels are assembled using a fastener through a drilled hole. The main problem of drilling is delamination, which affects the strength of the assembly. In addition, the cost of drilling is high because of repeated regrinding of the drill bit. The main goal of this research is to develop a new method as an alternative to drilling hole preparation. In this study, a new simpler method to determine delamination is based on the profile measurement technique. The 2D profile of the punched hole obtained through the focus variation technique is utilized to determine the delamination. A comparison to the developed measurement method shows a good agreement.