Aluminum metal matrix composites are attractive and effective materials because of their unique properties. These properties include high specific strength, light weight, high specific stiffness, excellent wear resistance, good corrosion resistance, and greater elastic modulus compared with the base alloy. They are used in aerospace, automotive, marine, mining, and mechanical structures. Fly ash, an inexpensive waste by-product obtained after the combustion of coal in thermal power plants, is considered as a reinforcement particle in the present study. The aim is to investigate the effect of fly ash in Al-10 weight percentage (wt%) aluminum oxide (Al2O3) metal matrix composites using statistical optimization techniques. One factor and Taguchi approaches are used in planning and designing the experiments. Al/10 wt% Al2O3 with 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt% fly ash composites are prepared with the powder metallurgy technique at 300, 400, and 500 MPa compaction pressure with 90, 120, and 150-μm fly ash particle sizes. The wt% of fly ash, compaction pressure, and particle size are the process parameters. Performance parameters such as ejection force and green density, hardness, and compressive strength are considered. The ejection force and green density decreased with the increase in the weight percent of fly ash. Hardness increased with the increase in fly ash content. Compressive strength increased with the increase in fly ash up to 5 wt% and subsequently decreased.
In this research work, an efficient optimization technique, grey relational analysis (GRA) has been used to for optimization of wire electrical discharge machining process of Titanium (grade 2) by considering multiple output parameters. This technique combines Taguchi’s orthogonal array with grey relational analysis for the design of the experiment. The central focus of this research is to achieve improved Kerf width, surface roughness and cutting speed. GRA method is implemented to decide the best input parameter that optimizes the output parameters. This study has been conducted by applying Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array. Each experiment has been conducted in altered conditions of input variables. For the optimization of multiple criteria, GRA is suggested as a suitable technique for the optimization of complex interrelationships between multi-performance characteristics. By analysis of variance (ANOVA) it is found that the percentage of contribution of peak current on overall performance is maximum i.e.73.1%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.