Influence of fabric areal density in woven GFRP laminate on abrasive water jet drilling responses

The objective of this investigation is to find out the effect of the woven glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates with different glass fiber densities, such as 610 GSM and 210 GSM, and manufactured by the hand layup technique, supported by compression molding on mechanical properties and abrasive water jet (AWJ) drilling responses. During the investigation, the woven GFRP with a fiber density of 610 GSM has been found to display greater flexural strength, interlaminar strength (ILSS), and tensile strength as compared to the woven GFRP with a fiber density of 210 GSM. The woven GFRP with a fiber density of 610 GSM has also displayed reduced drilling damage in the surface region and less delamination compared to the woven GFRP with a fiber density of 210 GSM. The results of both types of composites prove that the TR and JP considerably impact the delamination extent (DE) and surface roughness (SR). A decrease in the TR and an increase in the JP are primarily responsible for optimizing the desired machining performances. Finally, a FESEM analysis has been done to examine the machined surfaces’ morphology.