Experimental Investigation of Drilling Parameters Affecting Hole Quality in Glass Fiber/Polyester Composites

Fergany‬‏, Hany M.; Hassab-Allah, Ibrahim M; Abdelrhman, Yasser

doi:10.21608/jesaun.2025.408174.1639

	Experimental Investigation of Drilling Parameters Affecting Hole Quality in Glass Fiber/Polyester Composites
JES. Journal of Engineering Sciences
Article 7, Volume 54, Issue 4, July and August 2026 PDF (1.54 M)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.21608/jesaun.2025.408174.1639
Authors
Hany M. Fergany‬‏^* ¹; Ibrahim M Hassab-Allah¹; Yasser Abdelrhman¹^{, 2}
¹Mechanical Design and production Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
²Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Glass fiber/polyester composites are increasingly used in naval, aerospace, and automotive industries due to their excellent strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. However, drilling-induced delamination remains a major concern that compromises hole quality and structural performance. In this study, the drilling behavior of randomly oriented chopped strand mat GFRP/polyester laminates (3 mm thickness, 5 layers, 450 g/m² areal density) was experimentally investigated under varying spindle speeds (1000–2000 RPM), feed rates (100–300 mm/min), and drill diameters (5, 8, and 10 mm). Hole quality was evaluated using AutoCAD-based measurement of the delamination factor. The results show that delamination factor increases with feed rate, while higher spindle speeds reduce it, in agreement with previous studies that attribute this behavior to reduced thrust forces. Among the tested conditions, the lowest delamination factor (≈1.09) was obtained at 1500 RPM and 100 mm/min feed rate, whereas the highest (≈1.54) occurred at 1000 RPM and 300 mm/min. The contribution of this work lies in focusing on the underexplored chopped strand mat GFRP/polyester composites and employing AutoCAD-based quantitative assessment, providing new insights and a practical baseline for improving drilling performance in these materials.
Keywords
Glass fiber/polyester composite; GFRP; drilled hole quality; process parameters; delamination factor

References
[1] Chawla K. K., Composite Materials: Science and Engineering, 4th ed., Springer, Cham (Switzerland), 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28983-6. [2] Rajamurugan T. V., Shanmugam K., and Palanikumar K., "Analysis of delamination in drilling glass fiber reinforced polyester composites," Mater. Des., vol. 45, pp. 80–87, 2013, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2012.08.047. [3] Velaga M. and Cadambi R. M., "Drilling of GFRP composites for minimising delamination effect," Mater. Today Proc., vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 1229–1236, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2017.09.044. [4] Dandekar C. R. and Shin Y. C., "Modeling of machining of composite materials: A review," Int. J. Mach. Tools Manuf., vol. 57, pp. 102–121, 2012, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2012.01.006. [5] Abrão A. M., Faria P. E., Rubio J. C. C., Reis P., and Davim J. P., "Drilling of fiber reinforced plastics: A review," J. Mater. Process. Technol., vol. 186, no. 1-3, pp. 1–7, 2007, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.11.146. [6] Arul S., Vijayaraghavan L., Malhotra S. K., and Krishnamurthy R., "The effect of vibratory drilling on hole quality in polymeric composites," Int. J. Mach. Tools Manuf., vol. 46, no. 3–4, pp. 252–259, 2006, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2005.05.023. [7] Nagarajan V. A., Sundaram S., Thyagarajan K., Selwin Rajadurai J., and Rajan T. P. D., "Measuring delamination severity of glass fiber‐reinforced epoxy composites during drilling process," Exp. Tech., vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 66–73, 2013, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1567.2012.00809.x. [8] Chadha V., Gupta S., and Singari R. M., "Optimization of cutting parameters on delamination using Taguchi method during drilling of GFRP composites," in Proc. Int. Multiconference of Engineers and Computer Scientists (IMECS), Lecture Notes in Engineering and Computer Science, vol. 2228, pp. 1084–1089, 2017. [9] Mohan N. S., Kulkarni S. M., and Ramachandra A., "Delamination analysis in drilling process of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials," J. Mater. Process. Technol., vol. 186, pp. 265–271, 2007, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.12.043. [10] Khashaba U. A., Seif M. A., and Elhamid M. A., "Drilling analysis of chopped composites," Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf., vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 61–70, 2007, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2006.01.020. [11] Eisa A. S., "Optimization of the drilling parameters for GFRP composite using Taguchi technique," Eng. Res. J., vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 293–302, 2019, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/erjm.2019.66253. [12] Balaji R., Sivakandhan C., Munusamy P., and Muthukumar D., "Experimental study of mechanical properties and drilling properties of glass fibre composite," Int. J. Eng. Res. Appl., vol. 7, no. 1, Part 3, pp. 24–30, Jan. 2017. [13] Bosco M. A. J., Palanikumar K., Prasad B. D., and Velayudham A., "Influence of machining parameters on delamination in drilling of GFRP–armour steel sandwich composites," Procedia Eng., vol. 51, pp. 758–763, 2013, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.01.108. [14] Paundra F., Istanto D., Pujiyulianto E., Muhyi A., and Hastuti S., "Effect of layers on delamination and tensile strength of woven fiber composites with polyester matrix," J. Tek. Mesin, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 11–20, 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.9744/jtm.21.1.11-20. [15] Mahrous A., "An experimental study of the surface roughness and delamination damage after drilling fiber reinforced polymeric composites," Eng. Res. J., vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 457–469, 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/erjm.2023.186499.1244. [16] Arhamnamazi S., Aymerich F., Buonadonna P., El Mehtedi M., and Taheri H., "Application of central composite design in the drilling process of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composite," Appl. Sci., vol. 14, no. 17, p. 7610, 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app14177610. [17] Atta A. S., Nasser N. J., and Abd-Irazaq E. A., "Studying the effect of adding different fiber types to polyester composite on the adhesive wear property," J. Eng. Sci., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 48–58, 2015. [18] Thomas S., Hosur M., and Chirayil C. J., "Unsaturated polyester resins," in Unsaturated Polyester Resins, Elsevier, pp. 1–42, 2019, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-816129-6.00024-7. [19] Fergany H. M., Hassab-Allah I. M., and Abdelrhman Y., "Effect of number of E-glass fiber layers on the hardness of fiberglass/polyester reinforced plastics," Eng. Res. J., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 260-263, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21608/jaet.2024.321159.1341 [20] ASTM International, "ASTM D5961/D5961M-17: Standard Test Method for Bearing Response of Polymer Matrix Composite Laminates," ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1520/D5961_D5961M-17. [21] Lukács T., Pereszlai C., Geier N., "Delamination measurement in glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites based on image differencing," Compos. Struct., vol. 248, 2023, DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2022.116613. [22] Engin K. E., Yaka H., "Effect of drilling parameters on hole quality in drilling of pultruded GFRP composite material: Surface roughness, thrust force and delamination factor," NOHU J. Eng. Sci., vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1573–1580, 2023, DOI: 10.28948/ngumuh.1335448. [23] Ünüvar A., Öztürk O., "Machinability analysis of delamination and thrust force in drilling of pure and added GFRP composites, " J. Compos. Mater., vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 3–20, 2023, DOI: 10.1177/00219983221137648. [24] Nassar M. M. A., Alzebdeh K. I., Alsafy M. M. M., and Piya S., "Optimizing drilling parameters for minimizing delamination in polypropylene–date palm fiber bio-composite materials," J. Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng., vol. 45, no. 609, 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-023-04528-9. [25] Manickam R. and Gopinath A., "Measurement and analysis of thrust force in drilling sisal–glass fiber reinforced polymer composites," IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng., vol. 197, no. 1, pp. 1-7, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/197/1/012056. [26] Khashaba U. A., Abd-Elwahed M. S., Eltaher M. A., Najjar I., Melaibari A., and Ahmed K. I., "Thermo-mechanical and delamination properties in drilling GFRP composites by various drill angles," Polymers (Basel), vol. 13, no. 11, p. 1884, 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13111884. [27] Ghalme S., Bhalerao Y., and Phapale K., "Analysis of factors affecting delamination in drilling GFRP composite," J. Comput. Appl. Res. Mech. Eng., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 281-289, 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.22061/jcarme.2019.4397.1530. [28] Arunkumar R., Ramesh S., Lazar P., and Rajesh P. J., "Optimizing delamination free drilling of GFRP composites: An ANFIS based approach," in Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Springer, Cham, pp. 48–59, 2024, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72527-2_4. [29] Behera R. R., Ghadai R. K., Kalita K., and Banerjee S., "Simultaneous prediction of delamination and surface roughness in drilling GFRP composite using ANN," Int. J. Plast. Technol., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 424–450, 2016, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12588-016-9163-2. [30] Kumar V., "Analysis effect of drilling parameters on hole delamination during drilling of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite materials," Int. J. Res. Eng. Technol., vol. 2, no. 12, pp. 719–722, 2013, DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2013.0212122. [31] Kumar K. P. A., Nayak V., Rao P., H. T. S., Neelakantha V. L., and C. M. S., "Optimization of drilling parameters to minimize delamination in CNT-filled GFRP composites using machine learning," Appl. Eng. Sci., vol. 23, p. 100257, 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apples.2025.100257. [32] Khan R., "Fiber bridging in composite laminates: A literature review," Compos. Struct., vol. 229, p. 111418, 2019, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.111418.
Statistics Article View: 374 PDF Download: 74