Recent advances in drilling of carbon fiber–reinforced polymers for aerospace applications: a review

Drilling is considered as one of the most challenging problems in aerospace structures where stringent tolerances are required for fasteners such as rivets and bolts to join the mating parts for final assembly. Fiber-reinforced polymers are widely used in aeronautical applications due to their superior properties. One of the major challenges in machining such polymers is the poor drilled-hole quality which reduces the strength of the composite and leads to part rejection at the assembly stage. In addition, rapid tool wear due to the abrasive nature of composites requires frequent tool change which results in high tooling and machining costs. This review intended to give in-depth details on the progress of drilling of fiber-reinforced polymers with special attention given to carbon fiber–reinforced polymers. The objective is to give a comprehensive understanding of the role of drilling parameters and composite properties on the drilling-induced damage in machined holes. Additionally, the review examines the drilling process parameters and its optimization techniques, and the effects of dust particles on human health during the machining process. This review will provide scientific and industrial communities with advantages and disadvantages through better drilled-hole quality inspection.

[1]  Khaled Giasin,et al.  An Investigation of burrs, chip formation, hole size, circularity and delamination during drilling operation of GLARE using ANOVA , 2017 .

[2]  A. Abrão,et al.  Analysis of parametric influence on delamination in high-speed drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites , 2008 .

[3]  Alma Hodzic,et al.  Assessment of cutting forces and hole quality in drilling Al2024 aluminium alloy: experimental and finite element study , 2016 .

[4]  P. Hariharan,et al.  A study on monitoring the drilling of polymeric nanocomposite laminates using acoustic emission , 2013 .

[5]  Z. Aboura,et al.  Experimental investigation of drilling damage and stitching effects on the mechanical behavior of carbon/epoxy composites , 2014 .

[6]  Chao Li,et al.  Study of drilling-induced defects for CFRP composites using new criteria , 2018, Composite Structures.

[7]  Anirudh Krishnan Iyer.  Characterization of Composite Dust Generated During Milling of Uni-Directional and Random Fiber Composites , 2015 .

[8]  P. Balaji,et al.  Optimization of Drilling Parameters of Carbon Fiber Composites Using RSM based Desirability Function , 2018, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering.

[9]  Jean-François Chatelain,et al.  Experimental investigation of the cutting temperature and surface quality during milling of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic , 2016 .

[10]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Advanced cutting tools and technologies for drilling carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites: A review , 2019, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing.

[11]  Mohamed El Mansori,et al.  Experimental study on drilling mechanisms and strategies of hybrid CFRP/Ti stacks , 2016 .

[12]  K. Palanikumar,et al.  Experimental investigation and optimisation in drilling of GFRP composites , 2011 .

[13]  João Manuel R. S. Tavares,et al.  Drilling tool geometry evaluation for reinforced composite laminates , 2010 .

[14]  Sein Leung Soo,et al.  High performance cutting of advanced aerospace alloys and composite materials , 2015 .

[15]  Franck Girot,et al.  An experimental study on abrasive waterjet cutting of CFRP/Ti6Al4V stacks for drilling operations , 2016 .

[16]  Hasan Gökkaya,et al.  A review on machinability of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite materials , 2018, Defence Technology.

[17]  Constantinos Soutis,et al.  Fibre reinforced composites in aircraft construction , 2005 .

[18]  João Manuel R. S. Tavares,et al.  Analyzing objects in images for estimating the delamination influence on load carrying capacity of composite laminates , 2008, CompIMAGE.

[19]  William D. Callister,et al.  Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction , 1985 .

[20]  João Paulo Davim,et al.  Optimization of machining parameters at high speed drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates , 2012 .

[21]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Drilling carbon fiber reinforced plastics manufactured by autoclave: experimental and statistical study , 2003 .

[22]  Huixuan Gao,et al.  A study of drilling uni-directional carbon/epoxy composites , 2011 .

[23]  Weilong Cong,et al.  A review of mechanical drilling for composite laminates , 2012 .

[24]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Study of drilling of composite material and aluminium stack , 2010 .

[25]  Demeng Che,et al.  Machining of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics/Polymers: A Literature Review , 2014 .

[26]  Kumar Abhishek,et al.  Multi-objective optimization in drilling of CFRP (polyester) composites: Application of a fuzzy embedded harmony search (HS) algorithm , 2016 .

[27]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Study of the surface defects and dust generated during trimming of CFRP: Influence of tool geometry, machining parameters and cutting speed range , 2014 .

[28]  Frédéric Lachaud,et al.  Experimental analysis of drilling damage in thin carbon/epoxy plate using special drills , 2000 .

[29]  A. Abrão,et al.  A novel approach based on digital image analysis to evaluate the delamination factor after drilling composite laminates , 2007 .

[30]  L. Vijayaraghavan,et al.  The effect of vibratory drilling on hole quality in polymeric composites , 2006 .

[31]  Antonino Squillace,et al.  Analysis of composites with infrared thermography , 2005 .

[32]  Xinggang Jiang,et al.  Delamination formation, evaluation and suppression during drilling of composite laminates: A review , 2019, Composite Structures.

[33]  Yusuf Kaynak,et al.  Evaluation of drilled hole quality in Al 2024 alloy , 2008 .

[34]  Jamal Y. Sheikh-Ahmad.  Machining of polymer composites , 2009 .

[35]  Fei Ren,et al.  An investigation of drilling high-strength CFRP composites using specialized drills , 2019, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

[36]  A. Murugarajan,et al.  Experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of drilling on GFRP composites , 2014 .

[37]  S. N. Teli,et al.  Multiobjective Optimization in Drilling of Composites , 2018, Proceedings of International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Automation.

[38]  C. C. Tsao,et al.  Evaluation of drilling parameters on thrust force in drilling carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates using compound core-special drills , 2011 .

[39]  Michael Chun-Yung Niu,et al.  Airframe Structural Design: Practical Design Information and Data on Aircraft Structures , 1988 .

[40]  David K. Aspinwall,et al.  Drill geometry and operating effects when cutting small diameter holes in CFRP , 2009 .

[41]  Pedro Reis,et al.  Study of delamination in drilling carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) using design experiments , 2003 .

[42]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Drilling of Polymer-Matrix Composites , 2013 .

[43]  Vinod Kumar Vankanti,et al.  Optimization of process parameters in drilling of GFRP composite using Taguchi method , 2014 .

[44]  Hong Hocheng,et al.  Effects of special drill bits on drilling-induced delamination of composite materials , 2006 .

[45]  Norberto Feito,et al.  Experimental analysis of special tool geometries when drilling woven and multidirectional CFRPs , 2016 .

[46]  PR Thyla,et al.  Optimization of machining parameters of composites using multi-attribute decision-making techniques: A review , 2018 .

[47]  Yinglin Ke,et al.  Factor analysis of machining parameters of fiber-reinforced polymer composites based on finite element simulation with experimental investigation , 2015, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

[48]  Yanming Quan,et al.  Investigation on drilling-grinding of CFRP , 2009 .

[49]  Usama A. Khashaba,et al.  Drilling of polymer matrix composites: A review , 2013 .

[50]  S. K. Malhotra,et al.  Modeling and Optimization of Process Parameters for Defect Toleranced Drilling of GFRP Composites , 2006 .

[51]  Souhail El Bouami,et al.  Effect of tool geometry and cutting parameters on delamination and thrust forces in drilling CFRP/Al-Li , 2016 .

[52]  K. Palanikumar,et al.  Application of grey fuzzy logic for the optimization of drilling parameters for CFRP composites with multiple performance characteristics , 2012 .

[53]  Paolo Claudio Priarone,et al.  Effects of Tool Geometry and Process Parameters on Delamination in CFRP Drilling: An Overview☆ , 2016 .

[54]  J. Ferreira,et al.  Machining optimisation in carbon fibre reinforced composite materials , 1999 .

[55]  Paul Xirouchakis,et al.  Experimental analysis of drilling fiber reinforced composites , 2011 .

[56]  Gong-Dong Wang,et al.  Comparisons of the use of twist, pilot-hole and step-drill on influence of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer drilling hole quality , 2018 .

[57]  Nor Khairusshima M.k,et al.  Tool Wear and Surface Roughness on Milling Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Using Chilled Air , 2012 .

[58]  I. El-Sonbaty,et al.  Factors affecting the machinability of GFR/epoxy composites , 2004 .

[59]  Xin Wang,et al.  Tool wear of coated drills in drilling CFRP , 2013 .

[60]  R. Krishnamurthy,et al.  Evaluation of PCD tool performance during machining of carbon/phenolic ablative composites , 2000 .

[61]  T. Bernthaler,et al.  A comparative study on tool wear and laminate damage in drilling of carbon-fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) , 2016 .

[62]  Khaled Giasin,et al.  An experimental study on drilling of unidirectional GLARE fibre metal laminates , 2015 .

[63]  João Paulo Davim,et al.  Experimental delamination analyses of CFRPs using different drill geometries , 2013 .

[64]  Dirk Biermann,et al.  Cutting edge rounding: An innovative tool wear criterion in drilling CFRP composite laminates , 2009 .

[65]  Hong Hocheng,et al.  Evaluation of thrust force and surface roughness in drilling composite material using Taguchi analysis and neural network , 2008 .

[66]  Muhammad Mahmood Aslam Bhutta,et al.  Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composite drilling via aluminum chromium nitride-coated tools: Hole quality and tool wear assessment , 2017 .

[67]  Khaled Giasin,et al.  3D Finite Element Modelling of Cutting Forces in Drilling Fibre Metal Laminates and Experimental Hole Quality Analysis , 2017, Applied Composite Materials.

[68]  Gérard Poulachon,et al.  Tool wear monitoring and hole surface quality during CFRP drilling , 2014 .

[69]  Wen-Chou Chen,et al.  Some experimental investigations in the drilling of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite laminates , 1997 .

[70]  Kuppan Palaniyandi,et al.  Drilling on fiber reinforced polymer/nanopolymer composite laminates: a review , 2017 .

[71]  Zaffar M. Khan.  A study of the drilling of advanced carbon fibre composites , 1991 .

[72]  João Paulo Davim,et al.  Delamination in High Speed Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) , 2008 .

[73]  H. Hocheng,et al.  Preliminary study on milling of unidirectional carbon fibre-reinforced plastics , 1993 .

[74]  A. Abrão,et al.  The effect of cutting tool geometry on thrust force and delamination when drilling glass fibre reinforced plastic composite , 2008 .

[75]  Khaled Giasin,et al.  Microstructural investigation of drilling induced damage in fibre metal laminates constituents , 2017 .

[76]  María Henar Miguélez,et al.  Experimental and numerical analysis of step drill bit performance when drilling woven CFRPs , 2018 .

[77]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Delamination analysis in high speed drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) using artificial neural network model , 2008 .

[78]  Peter Panjan,et al.  Investigation of machining parameters that affects surface roughness and cutting forces in milling of CFRPs with TiAlN and TiN coated carbide cutting tools , 2019, Materials Research Express.

[79]  Khaled Giasin,et al.  Machining fibre metal laminates and Al2024-T3 aluminium alloy , 2017 .

[80]  S. N. Omkar,et al.  Applied Soft Computing Artificial Bee Colony (abc) for Multi-objective Design Optimization of Composite Structures , 2022 .

[81]  K. Panneerselvam,et al.  Multi-performance Optimization of Drilling Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Using Taguchi: Membership Function , 2018, Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals.

[82]  María Henar Miguélez,et al.  Influence of cutting parameters on tool wear and hole quality in composite aerospace components drilling , 2017 .

[83]  T V Vorburger,et al.  Surface finish metrology tutorial , 1990 .

[84]  P. Mallick.  Fiber-reinforced composites : materials, manufacturing, and design , 1989 .

[85]  P. Umamaheswarrao,et al.  Multi objective optimization of CFRP Composite Drilling Using Ant Colony Algorithm , 2018 .

[86]  Satyabodh M. Kulkarni,et al.  Delamination analysis in drilling process of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials , 2007 .

[87]  Amit Rai Dixit,et al.  Fiber laser cutting of CFRP composites and process optimization through response surface methodology , 2017 .

[88]  Alessandra Caggiano,et al.  Image Analysis for CFRP Drilled Hole Quality Assessment , 2017 .

[89]  Kumar Abhishek,et al.  Optimization of thrust, torque, entry, and exist delamination factor during drilling of CFRP composites , 2015 .

[90]  Rehman Akhtar,et al.  Optimization of facing process by indigenously developed force dynamometer , 2018, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

[91]  Ali Mkaddem,et al.  Recent advances in drilling hybrid FRP/Ti composite: A state-of-the-art review , 2016 .

[92]  Lawrence D. Favro,et al.  Sonic IR Imaging of Cracks and Delaminations , 2002 .

[93]  Tae Jo Ko,et al.  Influence of machining parameters and tool structure on cutting force and hole wall damage in drilling CFRP with stepped drills , 2018, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

[94]  Hassan El-Hofy,et al.  Machining Technology: Machine Tools and Operations , 2008 .

[95]  Hong Hocheng,et al.  Computerized tomography and C-Scan for measuring delamination in the drilling of composite materials using various drills , 2005 .

[96]  I. G. Scott,et al.  A review of non-destructive testing of composite materials , 1982 .

[97]  Michael D. Gilchrist,et al.  The performance of coated tungsten carbide drills when machining carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy composite materials , 2002 .

[98]  C. C. Tsao.  Investigation into the effects of drilling parameters on delamination by various step-core drills , 2008 .

[99]  C. Tsao,et al.  Evaluation of a novel approach to a delamination factor after drilling composite laminates using a core–saw drill , 2012 .

[100]  K. Shunmugesh,et al.  Machinability study of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer in the longitudinal and transverse direction and optimization of process parameters using PSO–GSA , 2016 .

[101]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Drilling fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs) manufactured by hand lay-up: influence of matrix (Viapal VUP 9731 and ATLAC 382-05) , 2004 .

[102]  M. Uthayakumar,et al.  Review on Machinability of Fiber Reinforced Polymers: A Drilling Approach , 2018, Silicon.

[103]  A. Abrão,et al.  Drilling of fiber reinforced plastics: A review , 2007 .

[104]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Experimental and numerical analysis on drilling of carbon fibre reinforced plastic and aluminium stacks , 2016 .

[105]  Usama A. Khashaba,et al.  Measuring delamination in carbon/epoxy composites using a shadow moiré laser based imaging technique , 2007 .

[106]  María Henar Miguélez,et al.  Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Drill Point Angle and Wear on the Drilling of Woven CFRPs , 2014, Materials.

[107]  K. Palanikumar,et al.  Modeling and analysis for surface roughness in machining glass fibre reinforced plastics using response surface methodology , 2007 .

[108]  K. Panneerselvam,et al.  Optimization of Machining Process Parameters in Drilling of CFRP Using Multi-Objective Taguchi Technique, TOPSIS and RSA Techniques , 2017 .

[109]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of cutting parameters for drilling laminate composite materials by using genetic algorithms , 2006 .

[110]  Marek Balazinski,et al.  Burr height monitoring while drilling CFRP/titanium/aluminium stacks , 2017 .

[111]  Ming Chen,et al.  A comparative evaluation of polycrystalline diamond drills in drilling high-strength T800S/250F CFRP , 2014 .

[112]  Adrian P. Mouritz,et al.  Introduction to Aerospace Materials , 2012 .

[113]  Liangchi Zhang,et al.  An experimental investigation into the orthogonal cutting of unidirectional fibre reinforced plastics , 2003 .

[114]  K. Palanikumar,et al.  MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS FOR DELAMINATION IN DRILLING GLASS FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC (GFRP) COMPOSITES , 2011 .

[115]  Joseph J. Pignatiello,et al.  TOP TEN TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES OF GENICHI TAGUCHI , 1991 .

[116]  A. Sherif El-Gizawy,et al.  An approach for development of damage-free drilling of carbon fiber reinforced thermosets , 2001 .

[117]  Islam Shyha,et al.  Effect of laminate configuration and feed rate on cutting performance when drilling holes in carbon fibre reinforced plastic composites , 2010 .

[118]  Redouane Zitoune,et al.  Surface Quality and Dust Analysis in High Speed Trimming of CFRP , 2012 .

[119]  Weixing Xu,et al.  Tool wear and its effect on the surface integrity in the machining of fibre-reinforced polymer composites , 2018 .

[120]  Malek Habak,et al.  An Experimental Study of Drilling Parameters Effect on Composite Carbon/Epoxy Damage , 2013 .

[121]  N. Feito,et al.  Drilling optimization of woven CFRP laminates under different tool wear conditions: a multi-objective design of experiments approach , 2016 .

[122]  K. Palanikumar,et al.  Optimization of delamination factor in drilling GFR–polypropylene composites , 2017 .

[123]  Catherine A. Ploskonka,et al.  Fundamentals of Composites Manufacturing: Materials, Methods, and Applications , 1989 .

[124]  João Manuel R. S. Tavares,et al.  Delamination analysis of carbon fibre reinforced laminates: Evaluation of a special step drill , 2009 .

[125]  A. B. Pandey,et al.  A Review Paper on Effects of Drilling on Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic , 2014 .

[126]  Paolo Claudio Priarone,et al.  Diamond Drilling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers: Influence of Tool Grit Size and Process Parameters on Workpiece Delamination , 2017 .

[127]  J. Paulo Davim,et al.  Effects of high speed in the drilling of glass fibre reinforced plastic: Evaluation of the delamination factor , 2008 .