Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 104 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-96).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2005 / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 124 p. : ill. (some col.) Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-112).

This thesis presents a detailed experimental programme on understanding the mechanics of drilling in porous brittle solids. Gypsum was used as a model material for this experimental study, in which the mechanics of drilling was decoupled into equivalent problems of indentation and cutting. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanics of indentation and cutting was gained by performing experiments in 2-D conditions. A camera and microscope assembly was used to capture images at high temporal and spatial resolution to measure the in situ deformation. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) algorithm was used to measure the deformation parameters such as velocity, strain-rate, strain and volume change. In the last part of this research, drilling experiments were performed in 3-D conditions and an attempt was made for understanding the mechanics of drilling by relating the drilling experiment results to that of indentation and cutting. A series of wedge indentation experiments were performed under 2-D plane-strain conditions. Development of a parabolic zone of deformation, surrounding the indenter, was observed, wherein this size of the deformation zone and the strain accumulation in the deformation zone was a function of the geometry of the indenter. The maximum effective strain decreased and the overall strain field was more diffuse with increase in the wedge angle. Significant volume change was also observed in this deformation zone and the amount of volume change increased with increase in the porosity of the material. The zones of high volume change (compaction bands) were stacked in the form of layers oriented perpendicular to the direction of indentation. These compaction bands were more localized for the case of lower angles of wedge indenter. The extent of the compaction bands was also a function of porosity and spread over a larger area for the case of low porosity samples. A change in the material response was also observed with change in porosity and geometry of the indenter. The appearance of the crack was delayed with increase in porosity and reduction of wedge angle. The experimental results were also used to validate an analytical cavity expansion model. A better prediction of indentation pressure and the size of the deformation zone was possible after volume change corrections were incorporated into the cavity expansion formulation. A series of orthogonal cutting experiments were performed in 2-D plane-strain conditions. The e ect of tool geometry and the depth of cut on the mechanics of cutting was studied with the help of image based measurements and cutting force signatures. Different types of cutting mechanisms were observed for the case of positive and negative rake angle tool. A cyclic increase and decrease in the cutting force was observed in case of positive rake angle cutting tool. The decrease in the cutting force corresponded to the initiation of crack from the tip of the tool. The crack traversed towards the surface of the material and resulted in the removal of a material chip. With progress of cutting, the tool scratched the material surface, giving rise to the gradual increase in the cutting force as it again reached local maxima when the tool completely re-engaged with the material. For the case of negative rake angle, apart from cyclic increase and decrease of the cutting force, there was a development of a triangular dead zone at the tip of the cutting tool. The size of the dead zone varied cyclically with the progress of cutting. The length of crack, which resulted in the removal of the chip from the material, was found to be a function of the rake angle and the depth of cut. Drilling experiments were performed on gypsum samples in 3-D conditions. Two types of twist drills with different helix angles were used for this research work. Experiments were performed on the samples with two different porosities. Thrust force and torque signatures were recorded for five values of depth of cut per revolution. Since these experiments were performed in 3-D, image analysis was not performed. However, in order to ascertain a qualitative understanding of the drilling process, few experiments were performed on the edge of the material surface so that a cylindrical groove with semicircular cross section is made and the exposed surface of the material and the drill were imaged. The normalized thrust force and normalized torque were compared with indentation pressure and cutting force signatures and remarkable similarities between them was found. A transition from ductile to brittle type of response was observed with increase in the depth of cut per revolution, which was similar to what was observed in case of indentation. The magnitude of torque was found to be higher for high helix angle drills, which was counter to what was observed in cutting, which was due to the deposition of the material in helix for high helix angle drills, resulting in the reduction of the effective helix angle. An approximate estimate of the effective helix angle was made with the help of analytical solutions as well as from the qualitative analysis of the images.