Taguchi analysis of the residual tensile strength after drilling in glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Composites today are replacing several traditional materials due to their superior properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness to weight ratio, better impact characteristics, corrosion resistance and design flexibility. Drilling is often required to facilitate the assembly of the parts to get the final product. However, drilling induced damage drastically affects the residual tensile strength of the drilled components. The present investigation is an attempt to study the effect of the cutting speed, the feed rate, and the drill point geometry on the residual tensile strength of the drilled unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite using the Taguchi method and suggests the optimal conditions for maximum residual tensile strength.