Drilling induced delamination assessment of nanoparticles reinforced polymer matrix composites

The knowledge of polymer matrix composites machinability has increased with its rise in multi-field structural applications. Drilling of polymer matrix composites is required to achieve structural integration with greater accuracies. Delamination due to drilling affects the material strength and it occurs at both the entry and hole exit planes. The delamination on the exit plane is critical. The effect of nano-fillers on drilling-induced delamination of reinforced plastics has not been documented extensively and in this article, an attempt is made to explore the application potential of montmorillonite clay and graphene with amine functionalization in minimizing delamination through toughening the epoxy matrix. Experimentation was based on Taguchi’s L16 approach. The delamination factor and circularity ratio were analyzed using an image processing technique in Matlab and Image J. To evaluate the effects of various parameters and parameters interaction effect on the delamination factor, ANOVA was employed and Signal/noise ratios were calculated. The mathematical models were developed for delamination. It was observed that the reduction in the delamination factor was observed in nanoclay and graphene reinforced polymer matrix toughened composites in comparison to the base composites with a reduction in thrust force, specific cutting energy, and increase in circularity ratio.