Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558

17th
17th Global
Global Conference
Conference on
on Sustainable
Sustainable Manufacturing
Manufacturing

An
An Investigation
Investigation of
of Process
Process Performance
Performance when
when Drilling
Drilling Carbon
Carbon
Fiber Reinforced
Fiber Reinforced Polymer
Polymer (CFRP)
(CFRP) Composite
Composite under
under Dry,
Dry,
Cryogenic
Cryogenic and
and MQL
MQL Environments
Environments
Arjun
Arjun Nagaraj
Nagaraja*,
a
*, Alper
Alper Uysal
Uysalb,, I.
b
I. S. Jawahiraa
S. Jawahir
aInstitute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM), University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
a
b Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM), University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
bDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Besiktas, Istanbul, 34349, Turkey
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Besiktas, Istanbul, 34349, Turkey

Abstract
Abstract
Composites, especially Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites, are widely used in today’s industrial world such
Composites, especially Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites, are widely used in today’s industrial world such
as in aviation, defense, automotive industries. Although given the unique properties of the material, it is quite challenging to
as in aviation, defense, automotive industries. Although given the unique properties of the material, it is quite challenging to
machine CFRP composites. Drilling, among other operations, is a critical process, that has a tendency to produce process-induced
machine CFRP composites. Drilling, among other operations, is a critical process, that has a tendency to produce process-induced
defects. In this paper, thrust force, torque, delamination, and diameter error of drilled holes were investigated in drilling of CFRP
defects. In this paper, thrust force, torque, delamination, and diameter error of drilled holes were investigated in drilling of CFRP
composites under dry, MQL and cryogenic conditions and the results were compared. Also, since machining parameters play an
composites under dry, MQL and cryogenic conditions and the results were compared. Also, since machining parameters play an
important role, a variable feed approach is adopted to investigate the effect of feed in drilling of CFRP composites.
important role, a variable feed approach is adopted to investigate the effect of feed in drilling of CFRP composites.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2019 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2019
This The
is an Authors,
open accessPublished by Elsevier
article under B.V.
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing
Peer
Peer review
reviewunder
underthe
theresponsibility
responsibilityofof
thethe
scientific committee
scientific of the
committee Global
of the Conference
Global on Sustainable
Conference Manufacturing.
on Sustainable Manufacturing
Keywords: CFRP; MQL; Cryogenic Drilling; Hole quality; Process performance
Keywords: CFRP; MQL; Cryogenic Drilling; Hole quality; Process performance

1. Introduction
1. Introduction
The
The demand
demand inin the
the application
application of CFRP composites
of CFRP composites in
in many areas such
many areas such asas aerospace,
aerospace, construction,
construction, transportation
transportation
and
and automotive industries is attributed to its exceptional physical and mechanical properties such as high strength-to-
automotive industries is attributed to its exceptional physical and mechanical properties such as high strength-to-
weight
weight ratio,
ratio, good
good damage
damage tolerance,
tolerance, excellent
excellent fatigue
fatigue and
and corrosion
corrosion resistance.
resistance. This
This is
is possible
possible because
because ofof the
the ability
ability
to
to select an appropriate combination of the matrix and reinforcement to suit the type of application [1]. Unlike metals
select an appropriate combination of the matrix and reinforcement to suit the type of application [1]. Unlike metals

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-859-693-4766

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-859-693-4766
E-mail address: arjun.911@gmail.com
E-mail address: arjun.911@gmail.com

2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V.

2351-9789 © 2019 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing

2351-9789 © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer review under the responsibility of the scientific committee of the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing.
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.02.165
552 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558
2 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

or their alloys, machining of CFRP composites is quite challenging because of the disparate mechanical and thermal
properties exhibited by the matrix and reinforcement during the machining process [2].
Tool-wear is one of the biggest challenges faced in machining of CFRP composites. The abrasive nature of the
CFRP composites, along with the thermal resistance offered when machining, causes thermally-induced wear in the
cutting tool [3]. Also, defects such as fiber pull-out/breakage, matrix cracking, delamination occur when drilling
CFRP composites due to the anisotropic and heterogeneous property of the material [4]. Delamination, the defect
occurring due to the separation of layers, which occurs both at the entry and exit side of the hole when drilling CFRP
composites, is the most common defect encountered. It leads to decreasing the strength of the material [5]. The quality
of the hole drilled on CFRP materials can be controlled by selecting proper machining parameters. Machining
variables such as tool material, tool geometry, cutting parameters, cutting conditions, cooling/lubricating conditions,
etc., play a significant role when drilling of CFRP composites [6].
In general, dry drilling is carried out as reported in numerous previous studies. However, the tool-life and hole
quality are affected due to the high temperature involved when machining of CFRP composites due to its low thermal
conductivity [7]. Hence, application of coolant/lubricant, which is known to provide benefits in machining, needs to
be considered in the machining of composites to improve the machining quality. Therefore, in this study, the drilling
performance of CFRP composites was investigated under dry, MQL and cryogenic conditions. The resulting thrust
force, torque, entry and exit delamination, diameter and roundness error were measured and analyzed to evaluate the
machining performance and the part quality under each condition.

2. Experimental work and methods

2.1. Experimental setup and drilling conditions

The CFRP composite material used in the experiments were 21 mm x 21 mm x 12.5 mm blocks (from Elevated
Materials) with fiber volume fraction of 0.5448 and ply thickness of 0.201 mm. The material is 3K plain woven and
utilizes Cytec MTM 45-1 epoxy resin with the plies stacked at 0°/90° orientation.
The drilling tests were performed on a HAAS VF0 CNC vertical milling machine. The spindle of the machine is
driven by a 20 HP vector spindle drive with a maximum speed of 7500 rpm. For each experiment, new Kennametal
HPS BeyondTM high-performance uncoated solid carbide drills having two through-coolant holes were used. The drill
diameter and point angle are 10 mm and 135°, respectively. The workpiece was held in a custom-made jig and was
attached to the machine spindle, whereas the drill bit was held in a custom-made tool holder and located on a Kistler
type 9272 dynamometer which was connected to Kistler Type 5004 charge amplifiers to record the thrust force and
torque in drilling. The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. This set-up is quite contrary to the conventional drilling
where drill bit rotates, and the workpiece is fixed.

Workpiece

Tool mounted on
dynamometer

Fig. 1. Drilling experimental set-up

 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558 553
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 3

During cryogenic drilling experiments, liquid nitrogen (LN2) at a pressure of 12.5 psi was supplied externally
since internal supply of LN2 produced severe delamination in the preliminary tests given the nature of the material
used.
In MQL drilling, Coolube 2210, a plant-based oil, was delivered internally to the through-coolant hole of the drill
bit by Unist Coolubricator MQL delivery system at a flow rate of 36 ml/h. This enabled the lubricant reaching even
the exit side of the hole during MQL-assisted drilling. The machining parameters for all drilling tests are given in
Table 1.

Table 1. Machining parameters under Dry, Cryogenic and MQL cooling conditions
Trial conditions Cutting speed in m/min Feed in mm/rev
Constant feed (CF) 90 0.2
Variable feed 1 (VF1) 90 0.2 up to 8 mm and
0.05 for 4.5 mm
Variable feed 2 (VF2) 90 0.05 for 4 mm
0.2 up to 4 mm
0.05 for 4.5 mm

2.2. Measurements

The drilled holes were examined for delamination defects using a Nikon SMZ800 microscope. The images thus
obtained are analyzed using Microsoft Visio application, and the delamination factor, based on the ratio of maximum
diameter of damaged zone to the diameter of the hole, is determined as shown in Fig. 2. The hole diameter and
roundness error were measured using a TESA Micro-Hite 3D coordinate measuring machine. Measurements were
taken at 10 points along the hole circumference at depths of 1 mm, 4 mm, 7 mm and 12 mm of the drilled workpiece.
The results thus obtained are discussed in the next section.

Fig. 2. Measurement of the delamination factor

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Thrust force and Torque

The variation of the average thrust force and torque at constant feed under all cooling conditions is shown in Figs.
3-5. As seen, the thrust force induced under cryogenic condition is the highest and it was 36% higher than that
measured under dry condition. It is due to the fact that, under cryogenic condition, the Young’s modulus and tensile
strength of the material increases resulting in an increase in the thrust force induced [8]. The thrust force under dry
drilling was the lowest because of the fact that the high temperature generated during the process softens the matrix,
thereby reducing the induced thrust force [9]. Also, the thrust force under MQL was 17.6% higher than that measured
554 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558
4 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

during dry drilling due to the fact that the liquid lubricant delivered upwards through the drill tool blocks the free
flow of chips exerting more pressure, and thus the thrust force increases because of the inverted drilling setup.
A similar trend was found in the torque results. Among all cooling conditions, cryogenic machining produced the
highest torque. While the increment was 15% under cryogenic drilling, it was found that the torque decreased by 17%
under MQL compared to dry condition due to the lubricity during the MQL-assisted drilling, which reduces the
friction between drill tool-workpiece interface.

(a) (b)

Fig. 3. Variation of (a) thrust force; (b) torque through drilled hole length in dry drilling at various feed combinations.

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. Variation of (a) thrust force; (b) torque through drilled hole length in cryogenic drilling at various feed combinations

(a) (b)

Fig. 5. Variation of (a) thrust force; (b) torque through drilled hole length in MQL drilling at various feed combinations.

As far as the variable feed conditions are concerned, decreasing the feed to 0.05 mm/rev, decreased the thrust
force by 21%, 24% and 17% under dry, cryogenic and MQL conditions, respectively. Whereas, increasing the feed
from 0.05 mm/rev to 0.2 mm/rev under VF2, the thrust force increased by 31%, 25% and 26% under dry, cryogenic
 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558 555
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 5

and MQL conditions respectively. However, changing the feed had marginal influence on torque developed and did
not change much as compared to the thrust force.

3.2. Delamination

Delamination can occur at the entrance and exit of the drilled hole. Fig. 6 shows the delamination factors at the
drilled hole entrance and exit at various feeds under all cooling conditions considered. It can be seen that cryogenic
drilling had the highest delamination at both sides of the hole. However, it was found that the difference compared
to dry drilling was below 10% at the entrance side. Similar results were reported by [10]. There were higher degree
of fraying and chipping under this condition as seen in Fig. 7. In the case of MQL, delamination was found to be 2%
more than that measured under dry at the entrance side. Another observation made was that, under the lowest feed,
VF2, the composite material experienced less delamination compared to that at high feed. This shows that
delamination is highly dependent on feed.
As far as the exit delamination is concerned, the magnitude of delamination induced under cryogenic conditions
was 16% higher than that occurred under dry drilling because of the higher magnitude of thrust force. Whereas, the
delamination under MQL was 10% higher than that measured under dry drilling. This is because of higher horizontal
forces induced when MQL is used [11].
In addition, adopting variable feed causes a positive impact with respect to the delamination damage as seen in
Fig. 6. Dry drilling under VF2 outperformed cryogenic and MQL conditions. Additionally, variable feed reduced
fraying and chipping of fibers in the CFRP composite material.

Dry Cryogenic MQL

1.6
1.4
Delamination factor

1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
CF VF1 VF2 CF VF1 VF2
Hole entrance Hole exit

Feed in mm/rev

Fig. 6. Delamination factor at the drilled hole entrance and exit

a b

Fraying

Chipping

Fig. 7. Fraying and chipping under cryogenic condition at (a) entrance; (b) exit sides at 0.2 mm/rev feed.
556 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558
6 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

3.3. Hole diameter and roundness error

Fig. 8(a) shows the variation of hole diameter along the hole depth under all cooling conditions at constant feed.
As it can be seen in Fig. 8, the holes produced under all conditions were generally over-sized, as expected in drilling.
However, holes under dry condition had the largest deviation from the nominal size. The drill bit seems to undergo
severe expansion due to the higher temperature in dry drilling which leads to larger sized holes. Also, dry drilling
exhibited bell-mouthing effect on holes produced, where the diameter of the hole was larger at the entry and curves
inward through the depth of the hole. The hole under cryogenic and MQL conditions had less variation in diameter
and cryogenic drilling in particular gave the least variation among all. It has also been previously reported that
cryogenic drilling reduced the diameter variation considerably [12]. The deviation in the hole size was between -2
µm and +16 µm under cryogenic condition, whereas under MQL it was between +7 µm and +28 µm. Unlike bell-
mouthing in dry drilling, cryogenic and MQL drilling exhibited a barreling effect, where the diameter of the hole
increased from the hole entrance up to the middle of the hole, and then decreases at the exit as seen in Fig. 8.
Figs. 8(b) and 8(c) show the variation of hole diameter along the hole depth for VF1 and VF2, respectively. It is
clear that lowering the feed produces holes with diameter closer to the nominal diameter, i.e., it minimizes the
diameter error. The effect of cooling conditions was observed to be the same as explained before. Considering the
average diameter of the drilled holes, all three cooling conditions achieved the recommended tolerance range of ±20
µm to ±40 µm [13], except for dry under constant feed and VF1 and MQL under VF1.

(a) Dry Cryogenic MQL

10.3
10.25
Hole diameter in mm

Nominal hole
10.2
size
10.15
10.1
10.05
10
9.95
9.9
9.85
1 4 7 12
Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit
Depth of the hole in mm

(b) (c)
Dry Cryogenic MQL Dry Cryogenic MQL
10.25
10.05 Nominal hole
10.2
Hole diameter in mm

10.04
Hole diameter in mm

Nominal hole size

10.15 10.03
size
10.1 10.02
10.05 10.01
10
10
9.99
9.95 9.98
9.9 9.97
9.85 9.96
1 4 7 12 1 4 7 12
Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit
Depth of the hole in mm Depth of the hole in mm

Fig. 8. Hole diameter along the hole depth under (a) CF; (b) VF1; (C) VF2 for all cooling conditions.

Roundness is a measure of the closeness of the hole cross-section to a true circle. Figs. 9 (a), (b) and (c) show the
roundness error of the drilled hole under all machining conditions. The average roundness values were found to range
between 12.75 µm and 24 µm. The least roundness error was produced under VF2 for all cooling conditions i.e.,
lower feeds produce holes with minimum roundness error. Similar results were obtained by [14]. The increase in the
 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558 557
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 7

roundness error with increasing feed is related to the thrust force which consequently increases the radial force that
governs the roundness value [15]. Additionally, cryogenic drilling produced the least roundness error among all
cooling conditions.

(a)
Dry Cryogenic MQL
40

Roundness error in µm
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 4 7 12
Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit
Depth of the hole in mm

(b) Dry Cryogenic MQL (c) Dry Cryogenic MQL

45 45
40
Roundness error in µm

40
Roundness error in µm

35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
1 4 7 12 1 4 7 12
Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit Hole entry Middle of the hole Hole exit
Depth of the hole in mm Depth of the hole in mm

Fig. 9. Hole roundness error comparison under (a) CF; (b) VF1; (c) VF2 for all cooling conditions.

4. Conclusions

The following conclusions from this experimental study can be drawn:

• The machining conditions highly influence the thrust force and torque developed in drilling of CFRP
composite material. Cryogenic cooling induced the highest thrust force and torque. It was found that
variable feed had barely any effect on the torque although it had a positive impact on the thrust force
induced during the process.
• The delamination was found to be more severe under cryogenic condition. This can be correlated to the
thrust force induced which was higher under cryogenic machining. Also, adopting variable feed proved
to be beneficial. Lowering the feed reduced the delamination when drilling CFRP.
• Better quality of the drilled holes with respect to diameter and roundness error were produced under
cryogenic condition due to the fact that tool-life could be improved by maintaining the sharpness of the
drill bit since the temperature in the cutting zone is reduced under this condition. Additionally, lowering
the feed during the process reduced the diameter and roundness error, i.e., varying the feed during the
process improved the quality of the drilled hole.
558 Arjun Nagaraj et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 43 (2020) 551–558
8 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

When all these experimental results are evaluated, it is seen that the cryogenic drilling gives better results than dry
drilling in terms of drilled hole diameter and roundness. For this reason, it can be thought that cryogenic cooling,
which is a sustainable method and whose usage/applications continue to increase, can be an alternative to dry drilling
of CFRP composites. For the same reasons, we can also consider the MQL method as the next best alternative to dry
drilling.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Daniel Fang from Kennametal for supplying the drill bits for the experiments.
Also, the authors would like to thank Dr. Julius Schoop for providing valuable feedback during the experimental tests
and Mr. Adam Price for his technical support during experiments in the Sustainable Machining Laboratory of the
Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM) at the University of Kentucky.

References

[1] C. R. Dandekar, Y. C. Shin, Modeling of machining of composite materials: A review. International Journal of Machine Tools and
Manufacture, 57 (2012), 102–121.
[2] E. Bagci, B. Işık, Investigation of surface roughness in turning unidirectional GFRP composites by using RS methodology and ANN. The
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 31(2006), 10–17
[3] P.S. Sreejith, R. Krishnamurthy, S. K. Malhotra, K. Narayanasamy, Evaluation of PCD tool performance during machining of carbon/phenolic
ablative composites. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 104(2000), 53–58.
[4] S. Arul, L. Vijayaraghavan, S. K. Malhotra, R. Krishnamurthy, Influence of tool material on dynamics of drilling of GFRP composites. The
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 29(2006), 655–662
[5] V. Tagliaferri, G. Caprino, A. Diterlizzi, Effect of drilling parameters on the finish and mechanical properties of GFRP composites.
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 30(1990), 77-84.
[6] A. M. Abrão, P. E. Faria, J. C. Rubio, P. Reis, J. P. Davim, Drilling of fiber reinforced plastics: A review. Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, 186(2007), 1–7
[7] A. Chatterjee, Thermal degradation analysis of thermoset resins. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 114(2009), 1417–1425.
[8] R. P. Reed, M. Golda, Cryogenic properties of unidirectional composites. Cryogenics, 34(1994), 909–928.
[9] G. Basmaci, A. Yoruk, U. Koklu, S. Morkavuk, Impact of Cryogenic Condition and Drill Diameter on Drilling Performance of CFRP. Applied
Sciences, 7(2017), 667.
[10] S. Barnes, P. Bhudwannachai, A.N. Dahnel, Drilling performance of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite when machined dry, with
conventional cutting fluid and with a cryogenically cooled tool. In ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and
Exposition (pp. V02BT02A063-V02BT02A063). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
[11] M. Meshreki, A. Damir, A. Sadek, M. H. Attia, Investigation of Drilling of CFRP-Aluminum Stacks Under Different Cooling Modes. In
ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (pp. V002T02A011-V002T02A011). American Society of
Mechanical Engineers.
[12] T. Xia, Y. Kaynak, C. Arvin, I. S. Jawahir, Cryogenic cooling-induced process performance and surface integrity in drilling CFRP composite
material. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 82 (2016), 605–616.
[13] S a n d v i k C o r o m a n t , M a c h i n i n g c a r b o n f i b r e m a t e r i a l s : u s e r ’ s g u i d e . h t t p : / / w w w. s a n d v i k . c o r o m a n t . c o m /
sitecollectiondocuments/downloads/global/technical%20guides/en -gb/c-2920-30.pdf (2010).
[14] S. Alizadeh Ashrafi, P. Miller, K. Wandro, D. Kim, Characterization and effects of fiber pull-outs in hole quality of carbon fiber reinforced
plastics composite. Materials, 9(2016), 828.
[ 15] V. Chandrasekharan, A Model to Predict the Three-Dimensional Cutting Force System for Drilling with Arbitrary Point Geometry. Ph.D.
Thesis (1996), University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA.