The use of natural fiber composites is growing at a fast rate in terms of industrial applications due to their eco-friendly, recyclable, renewable nature, and low density/costs. Recently, jute fiber is being used as a reinforcement material in the development of natural fiber reinforced plastics for engineering applications. Drilling is an essential machining operation that is frequently performed for making of holes in composite structures to facilitate assembly of several components into a complex part. The literature reviews indicate that only a few of research articles investigated drilling of natural fiber reinforced composites. Hence, in the present research, drilling of woven jute fiber reinforced polymer composites has been examined. This study aimed at evaluation of cutting parameters and drill bit types effect on thrust force, delamination size, and surface roughness in the jute fiber reinforced polymer composites drilling using an experimental design based on full factorial technique. The percentage contribution of the cutting parameters and drill bit types were determined through the analysis of variance. The optimal setting of these parameters was found through observation. The experimental results indicated that the most significant effect was the drill bit type influencing both delamination factor and surface roughness.
To prevent the catastrophic failure of composite structures, several nondestructive testing methods have been developed. In this study, a new technique to evaluate these structures by using thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) thermography is presented. Temperature gradients produced by sensitive liquid-crystals are used to detect delamination in composite specimens. The effects of constituent materials and delamination size/location are investigated. The results from TLC thermography are compared to those from infrared thermography. Finally, advantages/disadvantages of the new method are discussed. On the basis of the results from this study, it could be concluded that the TLC thermography can be used as an inexpensive nondestructive testing method in inspection of composite structures. POLYM. COMPOS.,
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