Hindawi

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Volume 2022, Article ID 9481566, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9481566

Research Article
Analysis of Drilling of Coir Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Composites
Using Multifaceted Drill Bit

T. V. Rajamurugan,1 C. Rajaganapathy,1 S. P. Jani,2 Claris Snigdha Gurram ,3

Haiter Lenin Allasi ,4 and Samson Zerihun Damtew4
1
Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering Srirangam, Trichy 620012, Tamilnadu, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marri Laxman Reddy Institute of Technology and Management,
Hyderabad 500043, India
3
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, WOLLO University, Kombolcha Institute of Technology, Post box no: 208,
Kombolcha, Ethiopia

Correspondence should be addressed to Haiter Lenin Allasi; drahlenin@kiot.edu.et

Received 17 March 2022; Revised 2 May 2022; Accepted 5 May 2022; Published 24 May 2022

Academic Editor: Sengottuvelu Ramesh

Copyright © 2022 T. V. Rajamurugan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Composite materials are continuously replacing the conventional materials and alloys owing to their weight reduction. Bio-
degradable fiber-reinforced composite materials are one of the prime attractions to the researcher due to their easy availability and
low cost. During drilling of these Natural Fiber Reinforced Plastic composites (NFRP), delamination and surface roughness are
the problems encountered, which are to be minimized to get better output by adopting different cutting conditions and tools. This
work aims at the drilling of naturally available coir fiber-reinforced composite materials by using a multifaceted drill bit. Material
thickness, spindle speed, feed rate, and multifaceted bit diameter are input against the output delamination. After modeling of the
output result, a sensitivity analysis tool is introduced to rate the input factor to minimize delamination. SEM images are used to
analyze the fracture morphology.

1. Introduction for bolting two different parts in assembling. The drilling

Composites reinforced with natural fibers were reported in
the early twentieth century. Green composites are made up
of polymeric matrix-reinforced by natural fibers. Green
composites are ecofriendly, economic, and easy to dispose
of. Green composites are a mixture of natural fibers and
plastics which can easily be replacing conventional glass-
fiber composites since they have the advantages such as
biodegradability and low density. Nowadays, work has been
going on to use natural fibers instead of carbon, glass fibers
because of their strength to weight ratio. Rajamurugan et al.
[1] compared mechanical testing of composites reinforced
with coir and luffa. The qualities of the fibers determine the
performance of composites. Drilling of these composites is
needed in automotive industries such as flax, sisal, and jute
process is difficult because of the soft matrix and hard fiber
reinforcement. During drilling operation, the thrust force is
induced, which in turn leads to damage like fiber pull-out
and delamination concerning input parameters. Srinivasan
et. al. [2]and Mudhukrishnan et al. [3] conducted experi-
ments on glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites.
They observed the impact of tool materials over surface
roughness in drilling, and they inferred that solid carbide
drills with low tool feed and high speed give a good surface
finish to drilled holes. Raj and Karunamoorthy [4] discov-
ered that tool wear caused by abrasive fibers is a major cause
of damage. To overcome this, they recommended that the
drill bit is to be properly selected. Tool wear increases with
the increase in thrust force. Voss et al. [5] calculated the tool
lifetime based on hole quality. Latha et al. [6] conducted
2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
experiments on glass fiber-reinforced plastic drilling for
delamination analysis. The most influential parameters that
affect hole quality are feed rate and drill diameter. Increased
feed causes an increase in strain rate, which increases the
surface roughness of the hybrid composite [7]. Response
Surface Methodology is a numerical tool used for modeling
and analyzing the problem. The aim of the RSM is a cor-
relation among the factors and the responses. The important
step of RSM is to select the suitable design matrix for
conducting the experiment. Myers [8], Dhakal, and Gowda
[9] conducted tensile, flexural, and impact tests to charac-
terize the mechanical properties of a short raw banana fiber
polyester composite. Similarly, Chaudhary [10] et al. com-
pared the glass fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates using hand
lay-up with vacuum bagging, as well as the flexural strength
of a glass fiber polymer laminate. Harikumar and Devaraju
[11] evaluated the mechanical characteristics of GFRP
composites with copper wire embedded glass-fiber rein-
forced polymer and concluded that copper wire incorpo-
rated composites pose high tensile strength and impact
strength.
The influence of various treatments on composites was
studied by Sature and Mache [12], and they found that
moisture treatment possesses good strength to composites.
Senthilkumaran and Kannan [13] used sensitivity analysis to
identify and prioritize process variables based on their
impact on welded mild steel components. To attain less
delamination and maximum tensile strength, Babu et al. [14]
used Taguchi and ANOVA techniques. According to them,
feed and speed possess more impact on delamination and
tensile strength. Ficici et al. [15] used carbide drill bits to
achieve the best surface quality and minimum thrust.
Mohanraj et al [16] focused on neural network optimization,
teaching learning-based optimization to minimize thrust
force, torque, and delamination in the drilling of GFRP
composites. The backpropagation network algorithm was
used by Zhu et. al. [17] to forecast the drilling force, and the
findings show that the estimated drilling force based on the
upgraded network algorithm is consistent and accurate. In
fiber laser processing of GFRP composites, Rao et al. [18]
correlated anticipated and experimental values, to evaluate
damages such as loose fibers, interlayer fractures, matrix
material evaporation, and fiber breakages. Liping Liu et al.
[19] investigated the role of drill tool geometry to minimize
delamination and thrust force in the drilling of composites.
Rajamurugan et al. [20] have formulated an empirical re-
lationship by using the response surface technique to predict
the delamination in machining. Ramesh et al. [21], Vis-
wanathan. R et al. [22], and Srinivasan M et al. [23] con-
ducted machining experiments and did optimization by
using various techniques such as ANOVA Techniques and
gray relation analysis to minimize delamination and surface
roughness. Palanikumar. K et al. [24] evaluated the me-
chanical properties of coconut flower-reinforced composites
and concluded that the materials can be used in the auto-
motive sector. Kaviarasan et al. [25] experimented on a new
Delrin material to minimize the surface roughness by using
neural network optimization techniques under dry condi-
tions. The literature revealed that the damage analysis caused
Table 1: The coir fiber’s physical properties.
Physical property Coir fiber Units
Density 0.93 gm/cc
Young’s modulus 166 Mpa
Tensile strength 15.75 Mpa
Shear strength 13.7 Mpa
Flexural strength 34.63 Mpa
Impact strength 283 Kj/m2
by the machining parameters, such as spindle speed, feed
rate, drill diameter, and the properties of the material-like
fiber orientation angle on natural fiber-reinforced com-
posites is limited. Hence, an attempt has been made of
optimizing the abovementioned input drilling parameters
with delamination as the output response with sensitivity
analysis in coir fiber-reinforced composites drilling.
2. Materials and Methods
Coir fiber was purchased from Agasteeswaram (Kanyaku-
mari district, Tamilnadu). P-502 type polyester resin and
methyl ethyl ketone peroxide hardener were purchased to
produce the samples. The fibers of coconut were chopped
into a mat, and these coir fibers were used to make a
composite laminate with polyester resin. The length of the
coir fiber is 15–20 cm, and the fiber orientation angle is 0,
22.5, 45, 67.5, 90. The fiber has been oriented at 0° one over
the other as sample 1, similarly, 22.5° are laid one over the
other, and sample 2 is prepared. Similarly, sample 3 with 45°,
sample 4 with 67.5°, and sample 5 with 90° were prepared. A
mixture of polyester resin and 1% radar hardener is used to
fabricate laminate using coir fiber reinforcement using
constant fiber weight fraction. Mold release spray and re-
leasing agent were used to remove composite laminate. The
specimen is cured at room temperature for 48 hours
(Rajamurugan et al). The compression molding technique
was used to prepare the samples with a size of 140 × 90 mm
with three different thicknesses such as 8, 12, and 16 mm.
Physical properties of the fiber are indicated in Table 1.
Response surface methodology—central composite de-
sign is used to plan the designed trials.
Table 2 lists the input parameters utilized in the
experiments.
The drilling experiments are performed on coir fiber-
reinforced composites in Computer Numeric Control
Vertical Machining Center with a capable speed range of
5000 rpm. The experiments were conducted using “Multi-
faceted” carbide K10 drill of five various diameters with an
overall shank length of 5 inches and shank size 1/2′ solid
carbide of 140° point angle and 28° helix angle, purchased
from “Wood Tech Enterprises, USA.” Delamination is a type
of damage caused by the anisotropy and brittleness of
composite materials. The delamination factor was calculated
using a toolmaker microscope. The machine used for drilling
is shown in Figure 1.
RSM-based central composite rotatable design was used
to model and optimize process parameters. The output
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 3

Table 2: Parameters in drilling experiments.

Levels
S. No Parameter Symbol Unit
(−2) (−1) (0) (1) (2)
1 Spindle speed V Rpm 500 875 1250 1625 2000
2 Tool feed rate F mm/min 50 112.5 175 237.5 300
3 Drill diameter (mm) D Mm 4 6 8 10 12
4 Fiber orientation angle Θ Degrees 0 22.5 45 67.5 90

Figure 1: Machine used for drilling.

function for response surface analysis, which includes in- interaction terms, the above equation is modified as in
teraction and square effects, can be represented as follows: equation (3):
n
Y � βo + β1 x1 + β2 x2 + . . . + βi xi + ε, (1)
y � βo + 􏽘 βi Xi + 􏽘 􏽘 βij Xi Xj + ε. (3)
where y indicates response, β0, β1,..., βi indicates regression i�1 i j>1

coefficient, x1, x2,..., xi indicates the estimated variables, and

εε indicates an error. Equation (1) represents first-order
linear form.
Equation (2) represents the linear response surface
model:
n i�1
y � βo + 􏽘 βi Xi + ε,
i�1
where β0 and βi are called coefficients, x1, x2,...xi represents
the variables, and εε is the residual. Considering the
Equation (4) expresses the quadratic response model,
which includes all linear, square, and interaction factors:
n n n n
y � βo + 􏽘 βi Xi + 􏽘 βi X2 + 􏽘 􏽘 βij Xi Xj + ε, (4)
i�1 i�1 j�1
(2)
where β0, βi, and βij are drilling parameters and n is the
number of model parameters. The coefficients in the
aforementioned model can be compared using the least
square approach or the second-order model.
4 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Table 3: Central composite rotatable design.

Design
S. A2 B2 C2 D2 AB AC AD BC BD CD
no. A B C D (X12) (X2) (X3) (X4) (X1X2) (X1X3) (X1X4) (X2X3) (X2X4) (X3X4)
(X1) (X2) (X3) (X4)
1. −1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2. 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1
3. −1 1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1
4. 1 1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 −1 −1 1
5. −1 −1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1
6. 1 −1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 1 −1
7. −1 1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1
8. 1 1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1
9. −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1
10. 1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1
11. −1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 1 −1
12. 1 1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1
13. −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 −1 −1 1
14. 1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1
15. −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1
16. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
17. -2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18. 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19. 0 −2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20. 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21. 0 0 −2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22. 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23. 0 0 0 −2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
24. 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
25. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The variables are coded as follows: (0) represents the
center; (−2) represents the lowest value; and (+2) represents
the highest value. The linear, quadratic, and two-way in-
teractive effects of the factors on the response were estimated
using the 31 experimental runs (Rajamurugan et al. 2013).
The primary machining factors that have more effects on the
responses in drilling coir fiber-reinforced polyester com-
posites have been discovered as being independently con-
trollable. The parameters’ limits were determined after a
thorough investigation. The machining operations are
conducted as per the design matrix (Table 3) randomly to
avoid errors and also Table 3 shows the coded values. The
parameters and responses are presented in Table 4. Table 5
represents the adjusted and predicted R2 values and the
graph is shown in Figure 2. The positive variables show an
increasing trend, whereas the negative ones represent a
falling trend. The contour plot is generally used to study the
relation between two independent factors and one input
response. Here we have the output response as the de-
lamination factor, and the contour plot is plotted against the
combined effect of drill diameter and tool feed rate. As
observed in the figure, increasing drill diameter shows a
minimum effect on delamination; however, increasing tool
feed rate causes a rise in delamination. The equation in
Table 6 shows a model summary for carbide multifaceted
drill bit.
The quadratic model for output response delamination
was created using the Design-Expert software. The model is
designed concerning delamination for multifaceted drill
material for coir fiber-reinforced composite materials. In
this experimentation, all the R2 values are greater than 0.96,
which relies on the formulated empirical models that are fine
enough to predict the drilling output response concerning
process parameters.
3. Results and Discussion
Natural FRP composites, especially coir fiber-reinforced
composites demonstrated suitable alternatives for glass fi-
ber-reinforced composites due to their superior strength and
easy availability. Delamination is a key cause of concern
during composite drilling, and it must be avoided. During
drilling, thrust force increases, and delamination also in-
creases. While drilling composites, the thrust force exerted
on the plate by the drill bit causes delamination on the
periphery of the holes. This is due to inhomogeneity between
the soft polyester matrix and the rigid coir fiber. The ge-
ometry of the drill bit like the chisel edge and cutting lip
makes contact with the workpiece and the graph of the
thrust force reaches its peak. Whereas during the drilling
process, the graph will be normal as there is no friction
between the tool and workpiece. Figure 3, 3(a) depicts the
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 5

Table 4: Coded values, real values, and delamination.

Coded value Real value
Exp. Spindle Tool feed Drill Fiber Spindle Tool feed Drill Fiber
no. speed rate diameter orientation speed rate diameter orientation Delamination
(rpm) (mm/min) (mm) angle, degrees (rpm) (mm/min) (mm) angle, degrees
1 −1 −1 −1 −1 875 112.5 6 22.5 1.36
2 1 −1 −1 −1 1625 112.5 6 22.5 1.26
3 −1 1 −1 −1 875 237.5 6 22.5 1.25
4 1 1 −1 −1 1625 237.5 6 22.5 1.83
5 −1 −1 1 −1 875 112.5 10 22.5 1.43
6 1 −1 1 −1 1625 112.5 10 22.5 1.12
7 −1 1 1 −1 875 237.5 10 22.5 1.36
8 1 1 1 −1 1625 237.5 10 22.5 1.56
9 −1 −1 −1 1 875 112.5 6 67.5 1.46
10 1 −1 −1 1 1625 112.5 6 67.5 1.15
11 −1 1 −1 1 875 237.5 6 67.5 1.32
12 1 1 −1 1 1625 237.5 6 67.5 1.5
13 −1 −1 1 1 875 112.5 10 67.5 1.79
14 1 −1 1 1 1625 112.5 10 67.5 1.15
15 −1 1 1 1 875 237.5 10 67.5 1.7
16 1 1 1 1 1625 237.5 10 67.5 1.5
17 −2 0 0 0 500 175 8 45 1.48
18 2 0 0 0 2000 175 8 45 1.31
19 0 −2 0 0 1250 50 8 45 1.27
20 0 2 0 0 1250 300 8 45 1.54
21 0 0 −2 0 1250 175 4 45 1.38
22 0 0 2 0 1250 175 12 45 1.49
23 0 0 0 −2 1250 175 8 0 1.42
24 0 0 0 2 1250 175 8 90 1.5
25 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.26
26 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.31
27 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.27
28 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.36
29 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.35
30 0 0 0 0 1250 175 8 45 1.42

Table 5: ANOVA—delamination for multifaceted drill.

Source DF Seq SS Adj SS Adj MS F P
Regression 14 0.820967 0.820967 0.058640 29.42 0.000
Linear 4 0.211367 0.211367 0.052842 26.51 0.000
Square 4 0.047425 0.047425 0.011856 5.95 0.005
Interaction 6 0.562175 0.562175 0.093696 47.00 0.000
Residual error 15 0.029900 0.029900 0.001993
Total 29 0.850867
R-Sq � 96.49%

influence of rotational speed on delamination, which il-
lustrates that increasing spindle speed reduces the delami-
nation factor in drilling. The reason is, that at high spindle
speed, the adhesives in the composite materials got melted,
which makes the material soften, and it causes the low
delamination in drilling. As the spindle speed is raised,
delamination in drilling of coir FR-polyester composites
increases. This is due to the length of short fiber for all the
thicknesses say 8 mm, 12 mm, and 16 mm. Each graph shows
the same pattern, so it can be asserted that the thickness of
the laminate does not have any influence on spindle speed
while drilling coir fiber-reinforced polyester composites
using a multifaceted drill bit. The feed rate is a highly
predominant criterion that influences the delamination in
the drilling of coir FR-polyester composites, so the thrust
force increases as the feed rate increases in the drilling of coir
FR-polyester composites because the shear area increases.
Furthermore, increasing the feed rate increases the area of
the uncut chip, which enhances delamination. Figure 3(b)
shows as delamination develops as the feed rates increases.
This is common for all the three thicknesses of laminate. This
is because the coir fiber has the highest toughness among all-
natural fiber S. For 50 mm feed, the delamination will be
around 1.4, whereas it reaches the maximum of 1.6 at
300 mm/rev. The effect of drill diameter on delamination in
composite material drilling suggests that when drill diameter
6 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Predicted vs. Actual

1.6
2.00
1.5

Delamination
1.4
1.80
1.3
1.2
1.60
Predicted

1.1

1.40 1.00 1.00

0.50 0.50
1.20 C:D 0.00 0.00
r ill -0.50 -0.50 rate
dia -1.00 -1.00 eed
me
ter B: F
1.00

1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00

Actual
(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) Correlation graph; (b) 3-D response graphs for delamination.

Table 6: . Model summary for carbide multifaceted drill.

Output responses Model expression R2 (%)

Delamination −1.32833 − 0.039167 ∗ v + 0.076667 ∗ f + 0.029167 ∗ d + 0.023333 ∗ θ + 0.13250 ∗ v2 − 0.081250 ∗ f2 96.49

−0.083750 ∗ d2 − 2.50000E − 003 ∗ θ2 − 0.022500 ∗ v ∗ f + 0.058750 ∗ V ∗ d + 0.016250 ∗ V ∗ θ
+0.018750f ∗ d + 0.026250 ∗ f ∗ θ + 0.032500 ∗ d ∗ θ

increases, the thrust force and torque increase because the
peripheral area of the undeformed chip and shear area
grows.
Figure 3(c) shows the effect of drill diameter on the
thickness of the coir fiber-reinforced polyester laminate at
various drill diameters. The graph displays varied patterns,
which could be attributed to the induced frictional char-
acteristics at the interface between the tool’s cutting edge and
the composite’s surface. The effect of fiber orientation angle
concerning delamination factor using a multifaceted drill bit
of various thicknesses in coir fiber-reinforced polyester
composites is presented in Figure 3(d). From the plotted
graph it is inferred that no drastic increases in delamination
occurs. This may be due to the alignment of fiber and length
to diameter ratio of the fiber because coir fiber has low
cellulose content. The input parameters of speed 1625 rpm,
feed 237.5 mm/min, drill diameter 10 mm, fiber orientation
angle 67.5° have minimum delamination. From the graphs, it
is clear that a high feed rate and moderate speed reduce
delamination. Similar results have been reported by Jayapal
et al. [26].
Sensitivity analysis was defined as the systematic in-
vestigation of the reaction of the simulation response to
either extreme values of the model’s quantitative factors or
too drastic changes in the model’s qualitative factors
Kleijnen (2015). The sensitivity equations are obtained by
differentiating the developed empirical relation concerning
the factors of interest such as spindle speed, tool feed rate,
drill diameter, and fiber orientation angle that are explored
here. To obtain the sensitivity equation for delamination, the
sensitivity equation (5), (6), (7), and (8) represent the
sensitivity of delamination for spindle speed, tool feed rate,
drill diameter, and fiber orientation angle, respectively:
zD
 −0.04 + 2 ∗ 0.13 ∗ v + 0.02 ∗ f + 0.06 ∗ d + 0.02 ∗ q,
zV
(5)
zD
 0.08 − 2 ∗ 0.08 ∗ f − 0.02 ∗ v + 0.02 ∗ d + 0.03 ∗ q,
zf
(6)
zD
 0.03 − 2 ∗ 0.08 ∗ d + 0.06 ∗ v + 0.02 ∗ f + 0.03 ∗ q,
zd
(7)
zD
 0.02 − 2 ∗ 0.01 ∗ q + 0.02 ∗ v + 0.03 ∗ f + 0.03 ∗ d.
zθ
(8)
Sensitivities of input parameters on delamination are
shown in Figure 4. The sensitivity of process parameters can
be ranked based on their slope. On that basis, the ranking in
this experiment reveals that the tool feed rate is highly
sensitive to fiber orientation angle, spindle speed, and drill
diameter, respectively, for drilling coir fiber-reinforced
polyester composites using a multifaceted drill bit.
After the hole was drilled, the hole with and without
protruded fibers was captured using a digital image with a
high-resolution camera at the entry side of the hole. Figure 5
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 7

2 1.9
1.9 1.8
Delamination factor 1.8

Delamination factor
1.7
1.7 1.6
1.6
1.5 1.5
1.4 1.4
1.3 1.3
1.2 1.2
1.1 1.1
1 1
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 0 100 200 300 400
Spindle speed (rpm) Feed rate (mm/min)
16 mm 16 mm
12 mm 12 mm
8 mm 8 mm
(a) (b)
2
1.9 1.9
1.8 1.8
Delamination factor

Delamination factor
1.7 1.7
1.6 1.6
1.5 1.5
1.4 1.4
1.3 1.3
1.2 1.2
1.1 1.1
1 1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0 20 40 60 80 100
Drill diameter (mm) Fibre orientation angle (degrees)

16 mm 16 mm
12 mm 12 mm
8 mm 8 mm
(c) (d)

Figure 3: Effect of various input parameters on delamination factor (a) spindle speed, (b) tool feed rate, (c) drill diameter, (d) and fiber
orientation angle.

Sensitivity analysis results of tool Sensitivity analysis results of drill

feed rate (f) diameter (D)
0.1 0.12
0.05 0.1
0.08
0
4 6 8 10 12 0.06
-0.05
0.04
-0.1 0.02
-0.15 0
4 6 8 10 12
-0.2
(a) (b)
Sensitivity analysis results of fiber Sensitivity analysis results of
orientation angle (θ) spindle speed (V)
0.25 0.4
0.2 0.3
0.15 0.2
0.1 0.1
0.05 0
0 -0.1 4 6 8 10 12
-0.15 4 6 8 10 12 -0.2
-0.1 -0.3
(c) (d)

Figure 4: Sensitivity analysis of (a) tool feed rate, (b) (f ) drill diameter, (c) orientation angle, and (d) spindle speed.
8 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
V=1625 rpm, f=112.5
mm/min, d=6 mm,
θ=22.5
Figure 5: Quality of the holes with varying feed rates.
(a)
Figure 6: ((a, b) shows the SEM photographs of the inner surface of the drilled hole.
indicates the photograph of the hole observed with a speed of
1625 rpm, feed 112.5 mm/min, tool diameter 6 mm, and
fiber orientation angle of 22.5°. The distance of the hole
center from the center of the drilled face is not equal, that is,
ovality is observed with a low feed rate. Whereas for the same
cutting condition except for changing the tool feed rate to
237.5 mm/min, a fine circular hole is observed, which may be
due to matrix cracking and burn lead by the greater wear of
the drill corner, which is shown in Figure 5(b). Generally, a
multifaceted drill point has a flat primary cutting edge and a
flat secondary edge. The primary and secondary ground
cutting edges are parallel to the face of the point which
decreases the thrust force and minimizes the delamination in
the drilling of coir fiber-reinforced composites. Figure 6(a)
shows the SEM photographs of the inner surface of the
drilled hole with maximum delamination rotational speed of
875 rpm, a feed rate of 112.5, a tool diameter of 10 mm, and a
fiber orientation angle of 67.5°. The figure shows a non-
uniform wall surface and fiber pull-out due to the cutting
action of a 10 mm diameter drill bit with a high feed rate.
This condition favors the irregular inner wall surface, which
is clearly shown in the figure. Figure 6(b) shows the SEM
photographs of the inner diameter of the drilled hole with
optimum cutting conditions which result in a smooth
surface without any protruding fibers, which may be due to
the influence of feed rate and the bonding between the
matrix and coir fiber reinforcement.
V=1625 rpm,
f=237.5 mm/min,
d=6 mm, θ=22.5
(b)
4. Conclusion
(1) Even though coir fiber-reinforced composites have
high mechanical strength, and the introduction of
coir fibers did not improve or reduce delamination in
coir fiber-reinforced composites drilling.
(2) From the ANOVA results, it is asserted that among
other input parameters, tool feed rate plays an im-
portant impact in increasing delamination in
drilling.
(3) The sensitivity analysis confirms the same phe-
nomenon, such that feed rate is the most influential
aspect.
(4) However, coir fiber-reinforced composites possess a
good alternative to glass fiber-reinforced composites
in all aspects such as low expensive, environmentally
friendly, and long-term solutions to increase the
composites’ qualities.
(5) Proper care should be taken while drilling coir fiber-
reinforced composites to avoid health hazards.
(6) SEM images were analyzed concerning the optimum
and nonoptimum cutting conditions.
Data Availability
There is no data available.
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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