A mechanical model for predicting critical thrust forces in drilling composite laminates

Among the various forms of material damage, delamination due to drilling is one of the major concerns in machining a composite laminate. The thrust force has been cited as the primary cause of the delamination. The analysis for multidirectional composite laminates is based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), classical bending plate theory and the mechanics of composites. This paper presents a general closed-form mechanical model for predicting the critical thrust force at which delamination is initiated at different ply locations. Good correlation is observed between the model and the experimental results.