Experimental study on drilling of jute fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

The use of natural fiber composites is growing at a fast rate in terms of industrial applications due to their eco-friendly, recyclable, renewable nature, and low density/costs. Recently, jute fiber is being used as a reinforcement material in the development of natural fiber reinforced plastics for engineering applications. Drilling is an essential machining operation that is frequently performed for making of holes in composite structures to facilitate assembly of several components into a complex part. The literature reviews indicate that only a few of research articles investigated drilling of natural fiber reinforced composites. Hence, in the present research, drilling of woven jute fiber reinforced polymer composites has been examined. This study aimed at evaluation of cutting parameters and drill bit types effect on thrust force, delamination size, and surface roughness in the jute fiber reinforced polymer composites drilling using an experimental design based on full factorial technique. The percentage contribution of the cutting parameters and drill bit types were determined through the analysis of variance. The optimal setting of these parameters was found through observation. The experimental results indicated that the most significant effect was the drill bit type influencing both delamination factor and surface roughness.