Hole quality evaluation for abrasive water jet drilling of GF/Al mesh reinforced epoxy hybrid composites

In this study, neat glass (NG) fiber and hybrid GF/Al‐wire mesh composites with two different aluminum configurations (AG: with Al in the outer surface, and GA [Glass fiber/Al‐mesh]: with Al in the core) were fabricated using hand‐layup technique and then drilled via an abrasive water jet (AWJ) machine. The impact of the drilling parameters on the hole qualities; delamination Fd, kerf angle (Ka), and circularity error (Ce) of the holes were studied. Using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, drilling operations were conducted. The following AWJ drilling parameters were chosen; water pressure (P), stand‐off distance (S), and traverse speed (V) with three levels each. A single‐objective optimization using Taguchi method was performed to minimize the drilling responses for the least outcome. In addition, gray relational analysis (GRA) was used as a multi‐decision technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to identify the impacts of AWJ drilling parameters. The results indicated that for AG specimen, Fd was reduced by 5.3%–10.96% and its Ce by 10.4%–29.65%. GA had the lowest kerf angle. The most effective parameters on delamination for NG, AG, and GA were P, followed by S and V. Validation tests showed small variations between experimental and predicted values. Highlights A new GF/Al Wire Mesh Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites were manufactured. AWJ drilling of the manufactured Composites was conducted. Hole quality was improved by adding Al to the outer layers (AG specimen). AWJ parameters were Controlled and optimized to reduce Fd, Ce, and Ka. Process optimization was performed by single and multi‐objective optimization. Graphical outline of the experimental and statistical procedures of the study.