Author : Murthy B.R.N and Rodrigues L.L.R

 
Among various machining processes used for Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRPs) conventional drilling is the most frequently used machining process in industry. For bolted joints and assemblies, damage free and precise holes must be drilled in FRP components to ensure high joint strength and precision. Since the drilling process is associated with a large number of process parameters, the damage free and precise drilling of FRPs is a difficult task. Simulation of process parameters is essential in order to estimate the value of the output parameters at any intermediate level and also to optimize the process to get the best quality of drilled holes. The optimization has been undertaken for the material thickness, the drill point angle, the drill diameter, the spindle speed and the feed rate. Many researchers have attempted the simulation as a tool for the optimization of the process parameters for quality holes, however, the System Dynamics (SD) based simulation is a novel method which has been attempted in this research. The simulation was performed by developing a simulation model through causal loop diagram followed by developing the mathematical equation. The results through System Dynamics, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were superimposed on experimental values for validation. The results of the RSM and the System Dynamics results exhibit a closer matching.

Keywords: Composite drilling; delamination: system dynamics; artificial neural network, response surface methodology

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.3,No.3(Aug- 2013)