Experimental Investigation of High Speed Drilling of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) Composite Laminates Made up of Different Polymer Matrices

Near net shape manufacturing is adopted in the synthesis of polymer matrix composite laminates. Joining of this laminates is critical to its intended application as engineering structural material. Mostly rivets are used for joints, success of these joints dependent on the geometrical and dimensional integrity of the holes drilled in these laminates. This work studies and compares drilling performance on laminates made up of different matrices such as Epoxy, Bisphenol and vinyl ester. Thrust force (N), during the drilling process and assessment of delamination factor after the process, could reveal the dimensional integrity of the holes to a larger extent. This paper discusses the effect of matrices of laminates, on the machining process and also, justifies the widespread use of epoxy as matrix material for Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) composite laminates.