Evaluating the optimum abrasive water jet machinability for CARALL composites with various fiber orientations

Abstract Carbon Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Laminated (CARALL) composites are widely used in aircraft structures due to their ability to be produced in different shapes with desired properties and their high impact resistance properties. As with other layered composite materials, processing of CARALL composites by conventional manufacturing methods results in many damage mechanisms such as fiber breakage, deformation in the hole region, stress concentration, resin‐fiber separation and microcracks. One of the modern manufacturing methods, Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ), is a processing method in which the material is removed by abrasion and almost any material can be cut without thermal degradation. There are no experimental studies in the literature on the drilling of CARALL composites by modern manufacturing methods. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of machining parameters on the output variables (kerf taper angle (K) , roundness error (Re) and material removal rate (MRR) ) as well as the effect of fiber orientation on the drilling of CARALL composites with different fiber orientations on an AWJ machine. PROMETHEE‐GAIA weighted by Entropy Weighting Method were used to ascertain the optimum levels of control factors. CARALL composites with different fiber orientations were drilled with an 8 mm diameter AWJ with three different water pressures, three different nozzle feed rates. With PROMETHEE‐GAIA multi‐criteria optimization method, the optimum levels of the factors that provide both minimum Re and K values and maximum MRR value were obtained with twill woven material, 1680 mm/min feed rate and 1680 bar water pressure. Highlights CARALL composite materials with two different fiber orientations (twill weave and UD) were used. CARALL composite materials were drilled at different machining parameters. Abrasive water jet was used in drilling experiments. Optimum drilling parameters were determined to achieve minimum roundness error, minimum kerf angle and maximum material removal rate. PROMETHEE‐GAIA was used as a multi‐criteria decision‐making method.