Parametric optimization of response parameter of Nd-YAG laser drilling for basalt-PTFE coated glass fibre using genetic algorithm

Abstract

Composite materials are well-recognised in the automobile and aerospace industries due to their high strength-to-weight ratios. The orientation of fibres and anisotropic properties are gaining the attention of design engineers daily in different manufacturing industries. For stipulated requirements, hybrid composite materials can be developed. Hybrid composite materials have higher variations in the material; it’s difficult to machine using conventional methods. This manuscript reports the optimization of Nd: YAG drilling on basalt and PTFE-coated glass woven fibres hybrid composite material made with hand lay-up method using a genetic algorithm. The process control parameters considered for the laser drilling were lamp current, pulse width, stand-off distance and compressed air pressure. The average values of the top- and bottom-hole diameters were recorded to evaluate and optimise the hole taper. Optimized input parameters yielded were a lamp current of 180 A, a pulse width of 3 ms, a stand-off distance of 3 mm and compressed air pressure of 8 kg/cm². The validation test of the optimized process yielded a hole taper angle of 0.00285°.