Influences of clearance angle and point angle on drilling performance of 2D Cf/SiC composites using polycrystalline diamond tools

Abstract Cf/SiC composite (carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites) is a kind of advanced composite material constituted by SiC as matrix and carbon fiber as reinforcing phase. Cf/SiC composites are being extensively used in the modern aerospace industry owing to their excellent physical and mechanical properties. The current work aims to investigate influences of clearance angle and point angle on drilling performance of 2D Cf/SiC composites using PCD (polycrystalline diamond) tools in terms of thrust force, drilling torque, hole surface quality, and material removal mechanism. PCD drill bits with different point angles and clearance angles were used in the experiment. The obtained results indicate that the 150° point angle is beneficial to improve the hole surface quality, and larger clearance angle is helpful to reduce the damage of exits. Additionally, the variation of clearance angle has little effect on the roughness of the machined surface. During the drilling process, the dominated material removal mechanisms are matrix removal, fiber breakage, and matrix-fiber debonding. The brittle fracture mode of carbon fibers, which directly affects surface roughness, can be divided into micro-brittle fractures in carbon fiber and macro-brittle fractures. Besides, the damage identification method of hole entrance and exit based on image processing technology is helping to improve the efficiency of machining quality evaluation.