Effect of Drilling Parameters on Delamination and Hole Quality in Drilling Flax Fiber Reinforced Bio-Composites

Natural fibers are becoming more attractive to engineers and researchers as an alternative reinforcement for fiber-reinforced composites (FRC). Interest in natural fiber reinforced composites (NFRC) increases due to their numerous advantages compared to most synthetic fibers. However, these near net-shape composite products still need some secondary operations such as drilling. The desire to improve the machining of these materials based on the areas of application still remains a challenge. The aim of this research is to study the machinability of the sustainable compression molded flax fiber with a bio based polymer matrix and investigate the effect of cutting variables on delamination and hole quality of the fabricated composites. Delamination associated with drilling processes can often be the main limiting factor that results in reducing the mechanical and structural strength of composite materials. The results obtained from the experimental investigation show that increase in cutting speed reduces delamination factor of drilled holes, whereas an increase in feed rate and drill diameter causes an increase in delamination factor. The effect of spindle speed on peripheral damage was not significant for any of the drills tested, though the feed rate was found to play the key role on the delamination damage area.