A Statistical Assessment of Drilling Effects on Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymeric Composites

Fiber-reinforced composites are extensively used in many components and structures in various industry sectors, and the need to connect and assemble such types of components may require drilling operations. Although drilling is a common machining process; when dealing with fiber-reinforced composite materials, additional and specific problems may arise that can com-promise mechanical integrity. So, the main goal of this work is to assess how various input variables impact two main outcomes in the drilling process: the exit-adjusted delamination factor and the maximum temperature on the bottom surface where the drilling tool exits. The input variables include the type of drilling tools used, the operating speeds, and the thickness of the plates being drilled. By using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the analysis aims to identify which factors significantly influence damage and exit temperature. The results demonstrate that the influence of tools and drilling parameters is critical, and those selections impact the quality of the hole and the extent of the induced damage to the surrounding area. In concrete, considering the initially selected set of tools, the BZT03 tool does not lead to high-quality holes when drilling medium- and high-thickness plates. In contrast, the Dagger tool shows potential to reduce exit hole damage while also lowering temperature.