Drilling of composite structures

Frederic Lachaud, Robert Piquet, Francis Collombet

*
, Laurent Surcin
D epartement de G enie M ecanique et Productique, Institut Universitaire de Technologie Paul Sabatier, Laboratoire de G enie M ecanique de Toulouse,
133 avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse cedex 4, France
Abstract
Structural parts made of composites have frequently to be drilled in the aircraft industry. However, little is know about the
interacting conditions between the drilling tool and the material, which may be multi-type and multi-size. This study proposes a
model which links the axial penetration of the drill bit to the conditions of delamination (crack opening mode I) of the last few plies.
Several types of tool/material contact conditions were analyzed and were compared with experimental measurements, and with a
model taken from the literature. Our study shows a close correlation between experiment and calculation when the thrust force of
the drill is modeled by taking into account the geometrical nature of the contact between the tool and a laminate composite ma-
terial. 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Drilling; Composite laminated; Delamination
1. Introduction
In the aircraft industry, the double uted twist drill is
classically used for the in order to realized repairs or
joining of thin carbon/epoxy structures.
Drilling thin carbon bers/epoxy matrix laminates is
frequently carried out in the aircraft industry when
manufacturing riveted assemblies or for structural re-
pairs.
This study is not a contribution to the design of
drilling tools adapted for composite structures but to
supply to the operator a simple protocol to minimize the
damage events which can occur during drilling. Indeed
the double-uted twist drill used for the machining of
metals is not well adapted for composite materials (Fig.
1) [1]. This drill causes damage, the extent of which in-
creases in the absence of a backing plate. This situation
is often met during structural repairs of airplane com-
posite structures.
For a multi-scale heterogeneous material, the damage
depends on:
the nature and mechanical characteristics of the long
bers used in the ply,
the stacking sequence and the mechanical characteris-
tics in dierently oriented ply interfaces (matrix)
throughout the plate thickness.
From the works of various authors [26], a brief sum-
mary of drilling defects is presented here (the hole entry
defect, the circular defect and damage from a heat
source in the wall of the hole, the delamination at the
exit hole). This paper deals with the initiation conditions
of delamination.
An analytical model used the classical plate theory
allows us to model the thrust force applied by the drill
versus the critical energy release rate in mode I for a
given depth of the bit of the drill. The axial load value
for the drill associated with the rst signs of delamina-
tion is calculated by means of an energy criterion. This
procedure leads to a problem simplication process by
ignoring the drill friction eect on the dierent contact
surfaces during drilling.
Two representational hypotheses of part/tool contact
have been analyzed:
where thrust force is uniformly distributed on the chi-
sel edge and on the two main cutting edges of the
drill,
where contact geometry has not been specied, and
thrust force is represented by a localized force along
the drill axis.
The analytical values obtained from these hypotheses
are subsequently compared with experimental results,
and a model from the work of [5].
Composite Structures 52 (2001) 511516
www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: robert.piquet@gmp.iut-tlse3.fr (R. Piquet), fran-
cis.collombet@gmp.iut-tlse3.fr (F. Collombet).
0263-8223/01/$ - see front matter 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
PII: S 0 2 6 3 - 8 2 2 3 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 4 0 - X
This paper shows that the results of our model are the
most close to the experimental results.
2. Review of drilling-induced damages studies
Using a twist drill causes several types of defect in the
laminate, [2,48] which can be divided into four main
types.
Hole entry defect does not appear on every occasion.
It is related to the brous character of material (due to
unidirectional plies) and to the drill geometry. It leads to
the tearing of the rst ply of the rst layer in contact
with the drill (Fig. 2).
Circular defect is linked to the presence of an angle
created by the direction of the bers of the ply con-
cerned, and by the direction of the cutting edge. De-
pending on the angular position of the cutting edges,
Fig. 2. Dierent defects in a composite plate.
Fig. 1. Exemples of drilling thin carbon/epoxy plates without backing plate.
512 F. Lachaud et al. / Composite Structures 52 (2001) 511516
and just before being cut, the bers are subject to an
alternating action of bending/compression stress. The
unilateral behavior of carbon bers thus leads to an el-
liptical hole shape. The minor axis of the ellipse in
smaller than the drill diameter and coincides with the
direction of the bers of the ply under consideration
(Fig. 2).
Damage from a heat source is due to friction between
the bers and the two minor cutting edges of the drill. It
can cause damage to the matrix at the hole edge, thus
increasing the likelihood of torn bers due to the me-
chanical action of the minor cutting edges. Removal of
bers leads to a roughness defect on the side wall of the
hole.
Delamination at the exit hole is provoked by the cut-
ting conditions imposed by the fact that the chisel edge of
the twist drill cannot cut through the material. The thrust
force of the drill (feed-rate) may cause normal stress
which is likely to open the ply interface (crack opening
mode I). Delamination between plies spreads beyond the
hole diameter, and can occur at varying depths as the drill
progresses (Fig. 2). For the purposes of our research, we
have concentrated on the situation where a single del-
amination occurs due to ply bending in the zone beneath
the drill (i.e. with no backing plate) [912].
As can be seen on Fig. 1 delamination occurs mainly
because of localized bending in the zone situated at the
point of attack of the drill.
3. Analytical model (theory)
The multi-directional stacking sequence studied leads
to damage spreading in a circular fashion. As a rst
approach, the crack opening mode is considered to be
due to normal stress perpendicular to the ply surface,
designated as r
ZZ
[511].
The circular defect is considered to be initiated by the
drill in contact with the material during the drilling
process (Fig. 3). The corresponding surface denes the
underlying part of the plate liable to bend as the drill
penetrates the material. We propose a study of the
conditions of extension of this initial defect by means of
an energy analysis in the case of failure mechanics. To
obtain this, the part of the plate located beneath the drill
has been modeled in terms of a thin circular orthotropic
plate. This plate has the same dimension as the drill, and
is clamped on the laminate surface (Fig. 3). This repre-
sentation does not take into account the global deec-
tion of the plate. It is only valid for a weak number of
plies located under the drill.
3.1. First hypothesis (distributed load model)
The contact between drill and plate was initially
modeled by a uniformly distributed load, with resultant
F
Z
(Fig. 3). By applying the plate theory [13], the equi-
librium equation of a plate element is written thus:
o
2
Mxx
ox
2

o
2
Myy
oy
2

2o
2
Mxy
oxoy
= q (1)
with Mxx; Myy; Mxy bending moments.
The part of the plate in contact with the drill is a
symmetric laminate ([ B
ij
= 0 [) for which the stress/
strain law is written:
Mxx
Myy
Mxy
_

_
_

_
=
D
11
D
12
D
16
D
12
D
22
D
26
D
16
D
26
D
66

o
2
w
ox
2

o
2
w
oy
2
2
o
2
w
oxoy
_

_
_

_
: (2)
The D
ij
coecient (bending stiness) has been calculated
by using the relation (3) obtained by means of the theory
of laminates:
[ D
ij
[=

n
k=1
Q
ij
_ _
k
Z
3
k
Z
3
k1
3
_ _
: (3)
The n plies have a position throughout the thickness in
relation to the mean plane of the plate called Z
k
with
Q
ij
= [T
1
[ [Q[ [T[; (4)
[T[ =
cos
2
a sin
2
a 2 sin a cos a
sin
2
a cos
2
a 2 sin a cos a
sin a cos a sin a cos a cos
2
a sin
2
a
_
_
_
_
;
(5)
where a denes the angle orientation of the ply. And
[Q[ =
Q
11
Q
12
0
Q
12
Q
22
0
0 0 Q
66
_
_
_
_
(6)
with
Fig. 3. Dierent cases of drill/plate contact for the analytical model.
F. Lachaud et al. / Composite Structures 52 (2001) 511516 513
Q
11
=
E
l
1 m
lt
m
tl
; Q
22
=
E
t
1 m
lt
:m
tl
Q
12
=
m
tl
E
l
1 v
lt
v
tl
=
v
lt
E
t
1 v
lt
v
tl
(7)
Q
66
= G
lt
:
The termsD
16
and D
26
of the behavior laws are null
(orthotropic plate and axisymetrical deection), and the
equilibrium Eq. (1) becomes:
D
11
o
4
w
ox
4
2 D
12
( 2D
66
)
o
4
w
ox
2
oy
2
D
22
o
4
w
oy
4
= q: (8)
The transversal displacement w of the clamped circular
plate, radius (a), under uniform loading which is a so-
lution of Eq. (8) is given by Eq. (9) [13].
w(r) =
q(a
2
r
2
)
2
64 D
; (9)
where
q =
F
Z
pa
2
(10)
and
D =
1
8
(3D
11
2D
12
4D
66
3D
22
): (11)
An energetic approach based on the application of the
theorem of virtual work to the equilibrium of the part of
the plate aected by the drill, enables the critical drilling
load to be determined.
The parameter which varies virtually is radius (a):
dW = dU dUd; (12)
dW is the work of external forces; dU is the potential
energy variation; and dUd is the energy absorbed by the
spread of cracking.
The strain energy of the circular plate is given by the
relation (13)
2U =
_
s
M
xx
o
2
w
ox
2
_
M
yy
o
2
w
oy
2
2M
xy
o
2
w
oxoy
_
ds: (13)
The virtual variation of the energy is expressed by:
dU =
oU
oa
da =
F
Z
16D
_ _
2

a
p
D
11
D
22
2
_ _ _

D
12
D
66
3
_ __
da: (14)
The virtual work of external loads corresponding to the
work of the distributed load q:
W =
_
2p
0
_
a
0
q w(r)r dr dh =
F
2
Z
a
2
192pD
; (15)
oW =
oW
oa
da =
F
2
Z
a
96pD
da: (16)
Delamination energy Ud is derived by multiplying the
critical energy release rate in mode I (G
IC
) by the sup-
posedly circular fracture surface:
Ud = G
IC
S = G
Ic
pa
2
: (17)
The virtual variation of thus energy is written as
dUd =
oUd
oa
da = 2G
IC
pada: (18)
Relation (12) is expressed as a function of (14), (16),
(18):
F
2
Z
p
2
1
96D
_ _

D
/
(16D)
2
_
2G
IC
_
apda = 0 \da; (19)
where
D
/
=
D
11
D
12
2

D
12
D
66
3
: (20)
Eq. (19) must hold for all variations of the virtual crack
extension and therefore the bracketed quantity should
be equal to zero. Therefore, the critical value of the
thrust is [4]:
F
Z
= 8p
G
IC
D
(1=3) (D
/
=8D)
_ _
1=2
; (21)
where D and D
/
are respectively, dened Eqs. (11) and
(20).
3.2. Second hypothesis (point load model)
In a second model, contact between the drill and the
plate is represented by a load at a particular point (Fig.
3). In this case, transversal displacement in given by the
Eq. (22).
w(r) =
F
16pD
2r
2
ln
r
a
_
(a
2
r
2
)
_
: (22)
By carrying out the same procedure as described in the
previous section, the critical drilling stress expression F
Z
(23) can be obtained.
F
Z
= 8p
2G
Ic
D
1 (D
/
=8D)
_ _
1=2
; (23)
where D and D
/
are respectively, dened Eqs. (11) and
(20).
The expression proposed by the model taken from the
literature is [5] (24)
F
Z
= p
8G
IC
E
3 1 m
2
( )
(h)
3
_ _
1=2
; (24)
where h is the plate thickness beneath the drill, E is the
global tensile modulus and m is homogenized Poisson's
ratio of the plate under consideration. This model does
not taken into account the role played by anisotropy in
localized bending.
514 F. Lachaud et al. / Composite Structures 52 (2001) 511516
4. Comparison between experiment and results obtained
from the literature
Test plates of carbon/epoxy resin have been manu-
factured from a one-directional sheet of Fibredux 914/
T300 (Hexcel) using the autoclave technique.
The lay-up of the 24 plies is quasi-isotropic. The
characteristics of each ply are as follows: E
l
=
144000 MPa; m
lt
= 0:3; E
t
= 8700 MPa, h = 0; 125 mm
and G
lt
= 4140 MPa. In this experiment, all the modes
of rupture are mainly damages by delamination.
Values for the critical energy release rate in mode I
(G
Ic
) have been measured by the compliance method
[10,14,15] for a given orientation angle between the plies
(Table 1).
These rates have been interpolated by a 2 polyno-
mial from three experimental data (0, 45 and 90) and
reactivated in analytical model (Eqs. (21), (23) and (24))
in relation to the relative orientation of the plies en-
countered during drilling. The quasi-static calculation
thus takes into account the relative angular position
between the main cutting edges and the anisotropy di-
rections.
The double uted twist drills used for all the test are
made of K20 rated ``micrograin'' tungsten carbide with
a cruciform grinding (DIN1412). The carbon/epoxy
plates are pre-drilled using a 4.8 mm diameter drill.
Dierent drilling depths enable us to study the bending
of thin plates made of 12, 11, 10 down to 1 ply. The test-
pieces are then placed on a tension/compression testing
machine (Fig. 4).
A perpendicular load F
Z
is applied to the non-drilled
part of the plate. According to [4] the maximum re-
corded F
Z
value is the one which causes delamination.
The experimental set-up is presented in Fig. 4. The 4.8
mm diameter drill is used as a punch, without rotation
and its feed-rate is 1mm/mn. G
IC
is given Fig. 5, the-
oretical and experimental delamination stresses are
given in Fig. 6. When the stress representation takes
into account the geometrical conguration of the tool/
part contact, the results of the analytical model (with a
uniformly distributed load) are close to experimental
measurements. This is veried for a number of plies
situated beneath the drill which is compatible with thin
plate hypotheses. In fact, when the number of plies is
greater than 7 (# 1 mm), this model no longer corre-
lates with experimental results. The representation of
the drill thrust force at a particular point considerably
reduces the analytical values compared with those of
the experiments. This analysis also applies to the
Table 1
Values for critical energy release rate in mode I (G
IC
)
Angle dierence 0 45 90
G
IC
(J m
2
) mini 110 150 240
maxi 120 160 260
Fig. 4. Test piece and experimental set up.
Fig. 5. G
IC
values for carbon/epoxy plate versus relatif angle between
two plies.
Fig. 6. Analytical and experimental results.
F. Lachaud et al. / Composite Structures 52 (2001) 511516 515
comparison between experimental values and those
derived from an analogous model taken from the lit-
erature [5]. Moreover, the machining study reveals that
the feed-rate per revolution and per cutting edge (f),
associated with the thrust force needed to produce
delamination, are close to the ``minimum turning''
(below this feed-rate value, the drill punches the
material without cutting it). From a practical point of
view, the operator must choose the cutting conditions
that are close to, but less than, the values proposed by
the distributed load model.
5. Conclusion
Among the dierent types of damage caused by
drilling thin carbon/epoxy plates without a backing
plate, we have chosen to model only the relation be-
tween drill thrust force, and localized bending of the last
few plies. It is the relation which is responsible for crack
opening mode I of delamination. The analytical model
proposed oers close correlation between experimental
measurements of static punching, as soon as the geo-
metrical distribution of tool/part contact conditions is
respected.This study shows that:
the values of the rst hypothesis which corresponds
to a contact tool/plate uniformly distributed load is
the most close to the experimental results,
the values of the second hypothesis (localized force at
the tip of the drill) and the values proposed by the
model taken from the literature are remote from ex-
perimental results.
Works are in progress to dene with more accuracy
the exact distribution of the thrust force (F
Z
) on the
chisel edge and two major cutting edges of the drill.
The dynamic and thermomechanical cutting condi-
tions have to be studied experimentally and modeled.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank R. Toppan, head of the SIDMI
(Societe Industrielle Aeronautique du Midi Corne-
barrieu France) for his nancial assistance, and also P.
Dubourg (IUT Paul Sabatier 31 Toulouse France)
for his invaluable contribution to our study.
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