EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DRILLING PARAMETERS, TOOL GEOMETRY AND CORE MATERIAL THICKNESS ON THRUST FORCE AND DELAMINATION IN THE DRILLING OF SANDWICH COMPOSITES

This study examined the effects of drilling parameters, tool geometry, and core material thickness (CMT) on thrust force and the delamination factor in the drilling of sandwich composites. Aluminum honeycomb (10 and 15mm in thickness) was used as the core material, with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) as the top and bottom surfaces. In the drilling experiments, three different cutting speeds (60, 78 and 100 m/min) and two different feed rates (0.05 and 0.075 mm/rev) were used. Drills having a diameter of 6.35 mm and three different geometries (candlestick drills, twist drills and dagger drills) were used in the experiments. At the end of the experiments, thrust force was seen to increase with increased feed rate and CMT. Increased cutting speed generally decreased the thrust forces and the minimum thrust force was achieved with the 10 mm thick core material, 0.05 mm/rev feed rate and 100m/min cutting speed using the dagger drill. The delamination factor at the entrance area was very low when drilling the sandwich composites and there was no significant difference based on drilling parameters, tool geometry, or CMT. Tool geometry was the main effective factor on exit delamination, and the highest delamination occurred with the use of the candlestick drill. Although increased feed rate increased delamination with all tools, with the dagger drill, increased cutting speed led to a severe increase. Delamination, tearing, and uncut fiber formation were observed when images of the exit areas of the drilled holes were examined.