Drilling of curved carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite plates

Abstract Complex geometries of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are often applied in the aerospace and automotive sectors, however, the scientific researches about the drilling of CFRPs are limited to the flat plates. The main objective of the present study is to analyse and compare the burr-occurrence in the drilling of flat and curved CFRP plates. Numerous drilling experiments were carried out in different cutting speeds and feed rates, and the burr-characteristics was analysed, compared and discussed. ANOVA results show that the influence of the radius of the curved plate has a significant effect on the burr-occurrence.