Evaluations of Mechanical Properties and Residual Strength of Drilled Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composites

Abstract:

This paper investigates the mechanical properties of drilled and non-drilled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites of plain woven and stitch bi-axial ±45° fabrics. Vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding was employed to fabricate the composite panels. In the first stage of this study, mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, and volume fraction of the composites were determined by per ASTM standards. Later on, the fabricated GFRP composites were drilled in order to investigate the delamination damage. Based on this issue, residual strength was evaluated after drilling process using constant feed rate and spindle speed but different drill bit geometries, which include twist drill bit and step drill bit. Experimental results showed that plain woven performed better in term of mechanical properties and residual strength after drilling process. In addition, residual strengths of drilled composites using step drill bit exhibited superior performance than that of the twist drill.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 660)
• Pages: 270-274
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.660.270
• Online since: October 2014
• Authors: Irina M.M.Wong, Chye Lih Tan, Azwan Iskandar Azmi, K.W. Leong, Muhammad Nazri Mohd Radzi
• Keywords: Glass Fiber, Mechanical Property, Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding

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