Delamination Analysis of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Laminates

Abstract

Drilling of carbon/epoxy laminates is normally carried out using standard drills, like twist or Brad drills. However, it is necessary to bear in mind the need to adapt the processes and/or tooling as the risk of delamination, or other damages, is high. These problems can affect the mechanical properties of the produced parts, hence, lower reliability. Production of higher quality holes, with damage minimization, is a challenge to everyone related with composites industry. In this paper, four different drills are compared in terms of thrust force during drilling and delamination caused by this machining operation. In order to evaluate delamination damage, enhanced radiography is applied. The resulting images were then processed using a previously developed image analysis and processing platform. Results show that a correct choice of drill geometry, cutting speed or feed rate can reduce delamination.