Original article

Proc IMechE Part L:

J Materials: Design and Applications
Investigation of delamination and 0(0) 1–17
! IMechE 2017
surface quality of machined holes Reprints and permissions:
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in drilling of multiwalled carbon DOI: 10.1177/1464420717692369

journals.sagepub.com/home/pil

nanotube doped epoxy/carbon fiber

reinforced polymer nanocomposite

Dhiraj Kumar and KK Singh

Abstract
In the drilling of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite materials, drilling-induced delamination and surface rough-
ness of machined holes are causes of major concern, particularly, when components, made of carbon fiber reinforced
polymer, are used in the aerospace industry. In order to minimize these drawbacks, an innovative technique has been
developed by adding multiwalled carbon nanotube in the polymer matrix to improve interlaminar shear strength and
flexural strength of the laminates. Experimental results indicate that with this process, flexural strength and interlaminar
shear strength get enhanced by almost 24% and 28%, respectively, when compared to neat epoxy carbon fiber reinforced
polymer composite. The image process results reveal that delamination factor gets decreased by 21% and 28.60% at the
entrance and the exit side, respectively. This, in turn, not only reduces the delamination factor during the process but
also facilitates the process to be carried out more smoothly. During this investigation, scanning acoustic microscope was
used to study ply-by-ply damage followed by ultrasonic C-scan on both sides of the laminates, which showed good
agreement with the experimental results. Measurement of surface roughness of the machined hole showed the maximum
Ra value of 5.03 mm in neat epoxy carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite. However, a sample with 1.5 wt% of
multiwalled carbon nanotube showed a decline in Ra value (1.18 mm). Thus, addition of multiwalled carbon nanotube to
the polymer matrix could reduce the drilling-induced delamination as well as the surface roughness of machined hole
simultaneously.

Keywords
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer, multiwalled carbon nanotube, thrust force, torque, delamination, surface roughness,
scanning acoustic microscope, field-emission scanning electron microscope

Date received: 21 August 2016; accepted: 16 January 2017

Introduction
In recent years, the research fraternity has extensively
focused on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)
composite materials due to their growing application
in fields as diverse as aerospace engineering, automo-
bile engineering, marine engineering, defence sector,
and a number of other industries. High strength-
to-weight ratio and good resistance towards corrosion
are two of the basic qualities of these composite
materials.1–6 Several machining operations namely,
drilling, milling, turning, boring, planning, and chan-
neling are done to make parts of CFRP composite
materials suitable for utilization in various fields.
Among these machining operations, drilling is
widely done for making holes in the composite mater-
ials for fastening and assembly of parts.7,8 Due to
heterogeneity and anisotropic behavior of these
materials, several machining damages occur during
drilling such as, delamination, debonding, matrix
cracking, fiber pull-out, fuzzing, and thermal degrad-
ation. Such damages, in turn, affect their performance
and lifespan.9–11 Among all these damages, drilling-
induced delamination is the most severe problem,
which not only affects fatigue life of the material
but undermines the surface finish as well.12,13 When
parts are subjected to fatigue load above 46% of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
(ISM) Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India
Corresponding author:
Dhiraj Kumar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad 826004, Jharkhand, India.
Email: dhiraj@mece.ism.ac.in
2 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)
ultimate tensile strength, damages such as fiber pull-
out and matrix degradation in the conventional
machining operation act as stress concentrator for
crack initiation and its propagation on the machined
surface.14,15 Delamination has two distinct mechan-
isms, i.e. push-out and peel-up (Figure 1). Push-out
delamination is more prevalent as compared to peel-
up delamination in drilling of the CFRP composite
laminates.16,17
Thrust force and torque are considered to be the
dominant factors causing delamination while drilling
FRPs. Push-out delamination occurs due to thrust
force owing to inadequate material support, which is
again influenced by the chosen machining parameter
as well as by laminate fabrication process.18
Delamination-free hole could be obtained if thrust
force is kept below the critical level.19,20 In this con-
text, Cadorin et al.21 conducted an experiment on 3D
CFRP composite laminates with twist drill and core
drill. Lower thrust force was observed when drilling
was carried out with a core drill. Consequently,
drilling-induced damage on the hole wall could be
minimized. Murphy et al.22 carried out experiment
to examine the influence of thrust force and torque
during machining of CFRP. The maximum thrust
force was found to have been generated when
drill tool pushed the last ply of the laminates, which
in turn caused delamination at the exit. The maximum
torque, on the other hand, was measured when
drill tool was entering the laminates. According to
Vijayraghavan,23 delamination around the hole
increases with an increase in the thrust force during
drilling of the FRPs together with cutting parameters
such as, cutting speed and feed rate. All these factors
have a cumulative effect on the thrust force and
torque.24,25 At a low feed rate, cutting speed has no
significant effect on the thrust force and torque.
However, as the cutting speed increases, thrust force
decreases. Cutting speed also has a slight effect on
torque.26,27
Previously, several authors reported that spindle
speed and feed rate affect delamination as well as sur-
face finish of holes. In this context, Babu et al.28
found that cutting speed and feed rate are the driving
factors for delamination. They concluded that higher
Figure 1. Schematic view of delamination mechanism: (a) peel-up delamination; (b) push-out delamination.
cutting speed with lower feed rate causes minimum
delamination. According to Rubio et al.,29 drilling-
induced delamination increases as feed rate increases,
while an increase in the spindle speed causes a decrease
in delamination due to high cutting temperature, which
softens the polymer matrix and fiber. Kilickap30
conducted drilling experiment on glass fiber reinforced
plastics and reported that for minimum delamin-
ation, feed rate and cutting speed should always be
kept lower.
Surface finish of machined holes is considered to be
an important parameter, particularly when and where
parts are subjected to fatigue load, precision fits, and
fastener holes.15,31 Thus, measurement and character-
ization of surface roughness of machined hole are
important aspects in such a manufacturing process.32
According to Takeyama et al.,33 surface roughness
and damage around holes increase with an increase
in the feed rate. However, the feed rate decreases with
an increase in the spindle speed. Latha et al.34
reported that feed rate has the maximum influence
on the surface roughness. On the other hand, spindle
speed has limited effect on the surface roughness.
From the published literature, it has been found
that thrust force and torque generated during drilling
of the CFRP composite materials are the main
causes behind drilling-induced delamination and sur-
face roughness. Therefore, to minimize thrust force,
delamination, and surface roughness for a better qual-
ity of machined holes, a small percentage of nanofiller
is added to the polymer matrix, which improves the
mechanical and thermal properties of the composite
materials.35 Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are considered
to be a potential filler for modification of polymer
matrix because of their excellent mechanical, thermal,
and electrical properties. Florian et al.36 found that
addition of CNTs to the polymer matrix improves
strength, stiffness, and fracture toughness of the com-
posite materials because surface area of CNTs acts as
an interface in stress transformation from the matrix
to that of the fiber.
In the present work, influence of MWCNT on
drilling of MWCNT doped epoxy/carbon fiber nano-
composite materials has been examined by varying
their quantity in the matrix. These experiments were
Kumar and Singh
conducted by using AlTiN-coated solid carbide drill
in order to study the effect of weight percentage
of MWCNT, spindle speed, and feed rate on the
thrust force, torque, delamination (at the entrance
and the exit side), and surface roughness. Three dif-
ferent weight percentages of the MWCNTs, i.e. 0.5%,
1.0%, and 1.5%, were mixed in the polymer matrix
for preparation of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocom-
posites. Drilling was done on all the samples with and
without MWCNTs to assess the latter’s effect on dril-
ling-induced damage and surface finish.
Materials and experiment procedure
Materials
MWCNTs, carbon-fiber woven roving, epoxy resin,
and hardener were used as the basic raw materials
to fabricate the CFRP nanocomposites. MWCNTs
were supplied by United Nanotech Innovations Pvt.
Ltd., Bangalore with inner and outer diameter in the
range of 1–5 nm and 5–20 nm, respectively, while, the
length was of 10 mm with around 98% purity. Carbon
fiber woven roving of 600 gsm was used as reinforce-
ment, which was supplied by CFW Enterprises,
New Delhi, India. Lapox L-12 bisphenol-based
epoxy resin and Lapox K-6 AH-312 epoxy hardener
were used as matrix materials, procured from Atul
Ltd., Gujarat, India.
Fabrication of specimens
To fabricate the MWCNT doped epoxy/CFRP nano-
composites, three different weight percentages of
MWCNTs (0.5 wt%, 1.0 wt%, and 1.5 wt%) were
used as the secondary reinforcement in the polymer
matrix as the properties (mechanical, thermal, and
rheological) of nanocomposites start to change with
over 2 wt% of MWCNT.37,38 Initially, MWCNTs
were dispersed in acetone with the help of ultrasonic
probe sonicator and sonicated for 30 min at 20 kHz to
minimize the chance of agglomeration. This was fol-
lowed by addition of epoxy resin to the mixture.
Further, the solution, thus formed, was sonicated
for 30 min. After sonication, the solution was stirred
as well as heated to 80 C by using magnetic stirrer for
an hour to evaporate acetone. Then the mixture was
cooled at room temperature. Hardener was added to
the mixture just before its application to avoid prema-
ture curing and was mixed with a mechanical stirrer
rotating at 900 r/min for 10 min. The prepared mix-
ture was applied on the plies with stacking sequence
[(0,90)/(30,60)/(30,60)/(0,90)//(90,0)/(60,30)/
(60,30)/(90,0)] by hand lay-up technique and pres-
surized in a molding unit at 700 mm of Hg for 24 h by
using vacuum bagging technique. Neat epoxy/carbon
fiber laminate was prepared with the same technique.
The fabricated specimen was 4 mm thick and the
fiber volume fraction was found to be 55%.
3
Mechanical behavior of fabricated laminates
To examine the mechanical behavior of the fabricated
laminates, flexural strength and inter-laminar shear
strength (ILSS) tests were carried out, which are
mainly displacement-controlled. For flexural strength
test, specimens were prepared according to the ASTM
D790 standard and the ILSS test specimens were pre-
pared according to the ASTM D2344 standard. Both
tests were carried out with HOUNSFIELD H50KS
computerized universal testing machine with a load
cell of 50 kN. Experiments were conducted at room
temperature with 1 mm/min crosshead speed. Five
specimens from each laminate were tested and their
average values were used for further analysis.
Drilling procedure
Drilling of the fabricated specimens was done with
EMCO Concept Mill 250 CNC machine at a max-
imum spindle speed of 10,000 r/min and 7 kW of spin-
dle power. All the prepared specimens were drilled
with AlTiN-coated solid carbide drill of 8 mm diam-
eter. For each set of specimen, separate drill bit was
used to avoid the effect of tool wear on the quality of
the machined hole. Experiments were conducted
according to the full factorial method and without
coolant and a backing plate. Details of the process
parameters are presented in Table 1. During the dril-
ling operation, a rotating 4-component dynamometer
(Kistler, type-9123C) was used to measure the thrust
force and torque signal. The drill tool was attached to
the dynamometer, while the work piece specimens
(100 mm  100 mm  4 mm) were held by a fixture
(Figure 2) for protecting it from vibration during
the process. Figure 3 describes the phases in drilling
operation.
Measurement of delamination and surface
roughness
Image processing technique was used to analyze the
drilling-induced damages around the hole. Machined
holes were first scanned at 1200 dpi by a high-resolution
scanner. Then, the scanned images were processed
by using Image J (1.50), which is a public domain
software. With proper selection of binary, noise,
brightness, and contrast, damage around the hole
was assessed and the maximum damage zone
Table 1. Drilling parameters.
Parameters Level of parameters
MWCNT (wt%) 0 0.5 1.0 1.5
Spindle speed (r/min) 500 1000 1400 2000
Feed rate (mm/rev) 0.10 0.15 0.30 0.50
MWCNT: multiwalled carbon nanotube.
4 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Figure 2. Drilling experiment set-up and data acquisition system.

Figure 3. Phases of drilling in the composite laminate.

Figure 4. Schematic representation of damage measurement.

diameter (Dmax) was measured, as presented in Figure 4. as cut-off length and moving speed of 0.5 mm/s. Ra
Delamination factor (Fd) was calculated by using the was measured to see the influence of MWCNT on the
following equation, formulated by Davim et al.39 quality of the machined holes. Ra represents internal
damage in holes with deep valley signifying greater
Dmax damage in the hole wall.
Fd ¼ ð1Þ
D

where D denotes hole diameter and Dmax denotes the

maximum damage zone diameter.
Surface roughness (Ra) of the hole was measured
according to ISO 1997 standard by using stylus-type
profilometer SJ-210 (Mititoyo America Inc.) with 0.8
Characterization methods
To examine the ply-by-ply damage around the hole,
scanning acoustic microscope (SAM, Model V400,
KSI Germany) was used. Detailed set-up of the
SAM is presented in Figure 5. In this system,
Kumar and Singh
Figure 5. Set-up for ply-by-ply damage analysis.
Figure 6. Mechanical behavior of materials: (a) flexural strength; (b) interlaminar shear strength.
50 MHz noncontact type transducer was used for
high-quality visualization of damages around the
hole. Water was used as the coupling medium for
transmission of ultrasonic sound wave from the trans-
ducer to the work piece material. A gap of approxi-
mately 5 mm was maintained between the transducer
and the work piece. In this study, plus echo method
was used. On the basis of the time of flight and ampli-
tude of the reflected sound wave, grey scan images
were created. X-scan was done on the hole to assess
ply-by-ply damage along the depth of the drilled hole.
In addition, C-scan was carried out on top and
bottom of the laminates to ascertain the entrance
and exit side damages.
Field-emission scanning electron microscope
(FESEM) was done on selected machined holes, coated
with gold using Supra 55 (Carl Zeiss, Germany) of reso-
lution 0.8 nm at 15 kV and 1.6 nm at 1 kV. A cut was
made across the hole and the damages were assessed
along the depth.
5
Results and discussions
Mechanical behavior of MWCNT doped CFRP
nanocomposites
Flexural strength and ILSS tests were conducted to
examine the mechanical behavior of the fabricated
laminates. Figure 6 shows the obtained results of the
flexural strength and ILSS test of the neat and
MWCNT doped epoxy/CFRP nanocomposite mater-
ials. Flexural tests were done for optimization of man-
ufacturing processes together with assessment of
matrices and fiber–matrix interface in the composites.
From Figure 6(a), it can be seen that as MWCNT
content increases in polymer matrix, flexural strength
of CFRP nanocomposites increases, which is consist-
ent with Salimi et al.40 Flexural strength in the neat
epoxy CFRP composite material was found to be
191.5  11.23 MPa. In the case of 1.5 wt% doped
MWCNT CFRP nanocomposite, on the other hand,
6 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

it was 251.1  6.11 MPa, which showed 24%
improvement in the flexural strength. This indicates
an improved fiber–resin adhesion due to addition of
MWCNTs to the polymer matrix.
Figure 6(b) illustrates results of the ILSS test of
neat and MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites.
Results establish that with an increase in the
MWCNT content, the ILSS increases too. Due to
the addition of MWCNT to the polymer matrix,
improvement of about 28% in the ILSS was recorded,
which was consistent with the observation of Fan
et al.41 The above behavior could be attributed to
high aspect ratio of CNTs, which enabled them to
act as nano-bridge between fibers and matrix. Due
to the development of nano-bridge in the composite
materials, extra energy was required to break them to
propagate cracks in laminates. Therefore, the load-
carrying capacity of MWCNT doped CFRP nano-
composite increased as well. For neat epoxy CFRP,
ILSS was reported to be 19.47  3.23 MPa whereas
for 1.5 wt% of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocompo-
site, ILSS was found to be 27.11  2.87 MPa.
Thrust force and torque analysis
Thrust force and torque play a significant role in the
drilling operation of CFRP nanocomposite, which
ascertains the machinability of nanocomposites.
Thrust force and torque signals were noted by using
rotating four-component piezoelectric drill dynamom-
eter (Kistler-type 9123C). Phases of the drilling are
presented in Figures 7 to 10, which also show the
thrust force and torque signals of the referred CFRP
laminates.
From Figures 7 to 10, it can be noticed that the
drilling operations comprise three phases. Phase 1
represents commencement of drilling process. As the
tool touches the work piece, steep increment in thrust
force and torque is observed. Phase 2 depicts the
stable phase of drilling operation referring to the

Figure 7. Thrust force and torque signals for 0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites (1000 r/min and 0.15 mm/rev).

Figure 8. Thrust force and torque signals for 0.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites (1000 r/min and 0.15 mm/rev).
Kumar and Singh
Figure 9. Thrust force and torque signals for 1.0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites (1000 r/min and 0.15 mm/rev).
Figure 10. Thrust force and torque signals for 1.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites (1000 r/min and 0.15 mm/rev).
cutting of laminates. Phase 3 depicts the decreasing
trend of thrust force and torque signals because of
less contact between drilling tool and the work
piece. This is the point where drilling of the work
piece ends. As presented in Figures 7 to 10, 1.5 wt%
MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites showed
lower thrust force and torque signals which prove
better machinability and quality of the machined
hole. This can be attributed to the lubrication provided
by MWCNT at the tool–chip interface, which eases
material cutting. MWCNT was found to improve the
stiffness of the nanocomposites which, in turn, reduces
the thrust force and torque. However, the maximum
thrust force and torque were observed in neat epoxy/
CFRP composites.
Machining parameters also affect the thrust force and
torque during drilling of the CFRP nanocomposites,
which can be seen in Figures 11 and 12. As mentioned
earlier, thrust force and torque are the main factors,
which cause drilling-induced delamination. From
Figure 11(a), it can be seen that as spindle speed
7
increases (at constant feed rate 0.15 mm/rev), thrust
force decreases due to an increase in cutting tempera-
ture. In the process, it leads to the thermal softening of
the matrix.7 However, from Figure 11(b), one can con-
clude that increase in feed rate (at a constant spindle
speed of 2000 r/min) increases the thrust force due to
depletion in effective clearance angle which, in turn,
increases the chip thickness during drilling.42,43 From
Figure 11, it can be noticed that as weight percentage
of MWCNT increases in the epoxy matrix of the lamin-
ates, thrust force decreases due to improvement in stiff-
ness of the composites laminates.
Figure 12(a) and (b) shows variation in torque with
spindle speed and feed rate, respectively, for neat and
MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites. It can be
noticed that as weight percentage of MWCNT
increases in polymer matrix, there is a reduction in
torque. Figure 12(a) shows variation of torque with
spindle speed at a constant feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev.
It can be ascertained that increase in spindle speed
causes decrease in torque. However, Figure 12(b)
8 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Figure 11. (a) Variation of thrust force with spindle speed at constant feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev; (b) variation of thrust force with
feed rate at constant spindle speed of 2000 r/min.

Figure 12. (a) Variation of torque with spindle speed at constant feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev; (b) variation of torque with feed rate at
constant spindle speed of 2000 r/min.

shows that there is an increase in torque with an
increase in feed rate for keeping a constant spindle
speed of 2000 r/min.
Damage and delamination analysis
Drilling-induced delamination is a matter of serious
concern in CFRP nanocomposites. During drilling of
these materials, the damage was observed both at the
entry and exit sides of the drill bit. There are two
obvious damage mechanisms, i.e. peel-up and push-
out, associated with the drilling of CFRP composite
materials. Thrust force is the main factor responsible
for drilling-induced damage. Peel-up delamination
occurs when the cutting edge of drill grazes through
laminates. As a result, the grazed lamina peels off
with flutes of the drill, causing upper lamina to
peel off.
Push-out delamination occurs at the exit side of the
drill bit. As the uncut thickness of laminates decreases
at the exit side, uncut plies bend elastically due to
action of the compressive force exerted by the drill
bit. As the compressive force increases, interlaminar
bond strength decreases, which leads to the develop-
ment of cracks between laminas. These cracks propa-
gate effortlessly when the drill bit pushes down. Thus,
failure of interlaminar bonding causes push-out
delamination. In the present experiment, lower delam-
ination was observed at the exit side as compared to
the entrance side.
Kumar and Singh 9

Figure 13. Delamination factor at entrance of various amount of MWCNT on variation of: (a) spindle speed and (b) feed rate.

Figure 14. Delamination factor at exit of various amount of MWCNT on variation of: (a) spindle speed and (b) feed rate.

Damages around the hole were measured by image
processing technique with ImageJ (v 1.50) public
domain software. Drilling-induced damage was quanti-
fied at both sides (the entrance and the exit side) for
better analysis of the drilling process of MWCNT
doped CFRP nanocomposite materials. Delamination,
i.e. damage around holes, was assessed by using equa-
tion (1). Effect of process parameters and weight per-
centage of MWCNT on delamination factor at the
entrance and exit sides are depicted in Figures 13
and 14, respectively.
From Figure 13, it can be seen that as weight per-
centage of MWCNT increases, delamination factor at
the entrance side decreases. Also, with an increase
in the spindle speed, delamination at the entrance
point decreases too as shown in Figure 13(a).
The minimum delamination factor was observed in
1.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites at
2000 r/min of the spindle speed. This significant
enhancement can be attributed to the fact that ther-
mal conductivity of polymer matrix improved due to
addition of MWCNTs, which also increased the inter-
facial strength between carbon fibers and matrix.
MWCNTs provided lubrication at the tool–chip inter-
face during drilling, thereby reducing friction
between the tool edge and composite laminates.44,45
Figure 13(b) shows the influence of feed rate on
delamination factor in the drilling of laminates. As
discussed previously, delamination factor decreases
with an increase in the MWCNT content in polymer
matrix. However, an increase in the feed rate increases
the delamination factor at the entrance point due to
10 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

an impact of drill bit on laminates. However,
improvement in the flexural strength after addition
of MWCNT to the polymer matrix ensures better
sticking capability between fibers and resin.
Therefore, lower delamination factor is observed in
1.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite
materials.
Figure 14 demonstrates that delamination at the
exit side decreases with an increase in the MWCNT
content as well. Delamination factor at the exit side is
lower than that of the entrance side, which is consist-
ent with the observation of Garilo et al.12 The max-
imum delamination is observed in the case of neat
epoxy/carbon fiber reinforced composite materials.
This could be due to the failure of interlaminar bond-
ing between plies. In Figure 14(a), almost a similar
trend for the delamination factor can be observed at
the exit side when compared to the entrance side with

Figure 15. (a) Ultrasonic C-scan images of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite at entrance. Parameters set A to D are: set A –
0.10 mm/rev and 500 r/min; set B – 0.10 mm/rev and 2000 r/min; set C – 0.15 mm/rev and 500 r/min; set D – 0.15 mm/rev and 2000 r/
min. (b) Ultrasonic C-scan images of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite at exit side. Parameters set A to D are: set A – 0.10 mm/
rev and 500 r/min; set B – 0.10 mm/rev and 2000 r/min; set C – 0.15 mm/rev and 500 r/min; set D – 0.15 mm/rev and 2000 r/min.
Kumar and Singh 11

Table 2. Demonstration of ply-by-ply damage.

0 wt% MWCNT 0.5 wt% MWCNT 1.0 wt% MWCNT 1.5 wt% MWCNT

Drill entry side (top)

0.45 mm from top

0.93 mm from top

1.83 mm from top

1.83 mm from bottom

0.93 mm from bottom

0.45 mm from bottom

(continued)
12
Table 2. Continued
0 wt% MWCNT 0.5 wt% MWCNT
Drill exit side (bottom)
MWCNT: multiwalled carbon nanotube.
a variation in the spindle speed. Figure 14(b) demon-
strates the effect of feed rate on delamination factor at
the exit side. It is seen that as the feed rate increases,
delamination factor at the exit side increases as well.
The reason behind such a rise is an increase in thrust
force, which bends the uncut plies elastically, leading
to increased bending stress. Accordingly, inter-lami-
nar bonding failure leads to development of cracks
around holes, which propagate as drill bit pushes
down further. However, the addition of MWCNT to
the polymer matrix increases the flexural strength and
ILSS. As a result, minimum damage can be observed
at the exit point of the hole.
Ply-by-ply damage and SEM analysis
To study the influence of MWCNTs in the drilling
process, X-scan, followed by C-scan was conducted
on MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite materials.
C-scan helped to ascertain the damages around the
hole both at the entrance and the exit sides. X-scan,
on the other hand, helped to analyze the ply-by-ply
damage. X-scan revealed weak reflection due to
increased thickness of layers. In order to overcome
this shortcoming, scanning of bottom layers was
done by flipping the work piece materials. The
C-scan and X-scan images were set at 120 ns to
ensure better visualization of ply-by-ply damage char-
acteristics at the entrance and exit sides. Figure 15(a)
and (b) shows the C-scan images of the entrance and
exit sides of the machined holes with different cutting
parameters. Table 2, on the other hand, shows the
X-scan images of CFRP nanocomposites.
Figure 15(a) and (b) shows that due to addition of
MWCNT to the polymer matrix, quality of holes at
both sides is improved. In case of neat epoxy/carbon
fiber composite, material damage at the exit side is the
maximum. However, with 1.5 wt% MWCNT doping,
exit side delamination reduces considerably. Table 2
denotes ply-by-ply damage development from entry to
the exit side. As expected, damage around the
entrance side is more pronounced in case of neat
CFRP. Due to addition of MWCNT to the polymer
matrix, damages around the exit side is less compared
to that of the entrance side of MWCNT doped CFRP
Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)
1.0 wt% MWCNT 1.5 wt% MWCNT
nanocomposites. This is because of the improvement
in ILSS and flexural strength of the laminates.
The micrograph of the machined hole wall at dif-
ferent locations was taken to examine the effect of
MWCNT on machinability of the CFRP composite
materials. The FESEM photograph (Figure 16) shows
typical defects like fiber breakage, fiber pull-out,
debonding, and matrix cracking of the machined
MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite materials
at a feed rate of 0.15 mm/rev and spindle speed of
2000 r/min.
As shown in Figure 16(a), neat CFRP composite
material undergoes greater drilling-induced damage
with maximum matrix pull-out. The main reason is
the generation of high thrust force during drilling,
which causes maximum damage and distorted cross
section of failure. Figure 16(b) shows the cut section
of 0.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite
material in which matrix pull-out, fractured fiber,
and debonding can be observed due to weak bonding
between matrix and fiber.46 Figure 16(c) shows micro-
graph of 1.0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocom-
posite in which less matrix pull-out and matrix
cracking can be observed. A smooth cross-section of
fibers proves proper cutting of fibers, indicating that
failure mode is minimum due to debonding. In case of
1.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite
materials, very little damage is observed around the
machined hole wall. Debonding of fibers and matrix is
minimum in such case due to enhancement in flexural
strength, which enables better sticking capability of
fibers and matrix as shown in Figure 16(d).
Surface roughness analysis
To ascertain the influence of MWCNT on the quality
of machined hole, surface roughness (Ra) of holes was
measured in all specimens. In drilling of CFRP nano-
composites, surface roughness of holes is a serious
problem, which affects life span of the part, when
subjected to fatigue load, precision fits and fasteners
holes. During the present experiment, Ra value of
the hole was measured at four different sections of
the hole and their average value was used for further
analysis.
Kumar and Singh 13

Figure 16. FESEM micrograph of hole taken at 0.15 mm/rev and 2000 r/min for: (a) 0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite;
(b) 0.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite; (c) 1.0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite; (d) 1.5 wt% MWCNT doped
CFRP nanocomposite.

Figure 17(a) depicts the surface roughness as a
function of spindle speed at a constant feed rate
of 0.15 mm/rev. Figure 17(b), on its part, depicts
surface roughness as a function of feed rate for a con-
stant spindle speed of 2000 r/min in the drilling of
laminates. In drilling process of CFRP composite
materials, drilling-induced damages are more perva-
sive at the entry and exit sides of the drill, which was
not included in the profilometry, conducted during
this investigation. However, the profilometry, used
14 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Figure 17. Surface roughness of hole on variation of: (a) spindle speed; (b) feed rate.

Figure 18. Micrograph of hole surface machined at 0.15 mm/rev and 2000 r/min for: (a) 0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP; (b) 0.5 wt%
MWCNT doped CFRP; (c) 1.0 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP; (d) 1.5 wt% MWCNT doped CFRP.

on inner plies exhibiting fiber pull-out damage, has
been included in the results as shown in Figure 17.
From Figure 17(a), it can be seen that with an
increase in the spindle speed, there is a reduction in
the surface roughness. A lower value of surface
roughness was measured at 2000 r/min for 1.5 wt%
MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites. The tem-
perature of tool–work piece and cutting behavior is
affected by variation in spindle speed. Therefore, at
higher spindle speed, there is significantly less time for
Kumar and Singh
energy dissipation, which causes an increase in cutting
temperature and leads to thermal softening of the poly-
mer matrix. As a result, the thrust force decreases
during drilling operation. Accordingly, formation
of built-up edge is less, resulting in reduced surface
roughness. Figure 17(b) indicates that as the feed rate
increases, surface roughness increases as well because
at higher feed rate, fracture is more violent as com-
pared to lower feed rate. It is so due to an increment
in thrust force at higher feed rate. However, with an
increase in the MWCNT content, surface roughness
decreases (Figure 17). MWCNT improves thermal con-
ductivity as well as the strength of the interface, which
leads to less debonding, less matrix pull-out, and less
fiber breakage on the hole wall.
The FESEM characterization of the hole wall indi-
cates that as the MWCNT content in polymer matrix
increases, there is reduction in debonding, fiber frac-
ture, accumulation of tiny particles of fibers, and
matrix pull-out. The maximum amount of fractured
fibers can be observed in the case of neat epoxy/
carbon fiber composite material. Figure 18(a) depicts
debonding of fibers and matrix. Figure 18(b) shows an
identical micrograph of the hole wall in 0.5 wt%
MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposite. Figure 18(c)
and (d) indicates that due to an increase in MWCNT
weight percentage in a polymer matrix, the interface
strength between lamina increases, which reduces
debonding and matrix pull-out. Moreover, very few
fractured fibers can be observed on the hole wall.
Therefore, from these observations, one can establish
that it is possible to obtain a quality surface by
increasing the MWCNT content.
Conclusions
In this investigation, an innovative approach, i.e. add-
ition of MWCNT to the polymer matrix was adopted
to improve the quality of machined holes. On the
basis of extensive experimentation, the following con-
clusions have been drawn:
. As the content of MWCNT in polymer matrix is
increased, flexural strength and ILSS increase as
well due to better sticking capability and enhance-
ment in bonding strength between matrix and
fibers.
. Thrust force and torque are mainly affected by the
cutting parameters. However, with an increase in
MWCNT weight percentage, both thrust force and
torque decrease due to an improvement in the stiff-
ness of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites.
. Drilling-induced delamination at the exit side is
lower than that of the entrance side due to
improvement in the ILSS. Delamination increases
with feed rate as thrust force increases accordingly.
However, with an increase in spindle speed and the
weight percentage of MWCNT, delamination at
the entrance and the exit sides decreases.
15
. Scanning acoustic microscope technique enables
ply-by-ply damage analysis, followed by ultrasonic
C-scan of MWCNT doped CFRP nanocomposites.
This process reveals the minimum drilling-induced
damage during drilling of 1.5 wt% MWCNT
doped CFRP nanocomposite.
. Surface roughness of holes increases with feed rate
because at higher feed rate damages are more
severe. However, it decreases with an increase in
the spindle speed due to softening of the polymer
matrix as high cutting temperature is generated at
tool–chip interface. Also, addition of MWCNT to
the polymer matrix leads to reduction of surface
roughness because MWCNT acts as a lubricant
at the tool–chip interface, minimizing matrix pull-
out and debonding of fibers.
. From the FESEM image, debonding, shear failure
and matrix pull-out have been observed to be the
dominant factors, which ruin the machinability of
composite materials. However, with addition of
MWCNTs, effect of these factors can be minimized
as the interface strength of these materials increases.
Even in course of this investigation, quality of the
machined surface improved considerably due to
addition of MWCNT to the polymer matrix.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the authorities at the
Manufacturing Science Lab, IIT Kanpur for allowing to
conduct the experiments. The authors are also thankful to
the Micro and Nano Characterization facility, CENSE at
IISc Bangalore for permitting the use of scanning acoustic
microscopy (SAM).
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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