Delamination formation, evaluation and suppression during drilling of composite laminates: A review

Fiber reinforced composite laminates have been increasingly replacing conventional materials in various manufacturing sectors due to their extremely superior mechanical properties. Usually, mechanical drilling is an important final manufacturing process for composite laminates, whereas drilling of high-strength composite laminates is very challenging and difficult. As the most undesirable damage and challenging failure mode, drilling-induced delamination for fiber reinforced composite laminates is a hot research area of immerse engineering importance. A review on the path towards delamination-free drilling for composite laminates can significantly help researchers improve currently-available cost-effective drilling process and develop high performance drilling process. This review paper summarizes an up-to-date progress in drilling-induced delamination for composite laminates reported in the literature. It covers delamination formation mechanism, delamination quantification methodologies and measurement technologies, delamination suppression strategies (including tool design optimization, drilling conditions optimization and high performance drilling methods). This general review of drilling-induced delamination for composite laminates can be referenced as not only a summary of the current results from literature survey but also future work possibilities, giving the researchers the opportunity to deepen specific aspects and explore new aspects for reaching delamination-free drilling for composite laminates.