Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

The present study discusses about the fabrication of Al MMC with TiB2 as 2% reinforcement with 400 mesh particle size by novel vacuum stir casting method. A series of experiments performed to know morphology and surface topography of developed MMC. Micro structural observation along with the SEM and XRD testing has been carried out to investigate the distribution of TiB2 particle reinforced in Al2014 matrix. EDAX report has been generated of a standard specimen to know the weight percent of all the materials that were developed during the casting process. Machinability test has been carried out on medium duty lathe with coated carbide insert by using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array to know the surface roughness values with a selection of different cutting parameters as cutting speed, feed rate and cutting depth respectively for three different levels. The optimal cutting conditions were found using the Signal-to-Noise (S/N) ratio of surface roughness parameters (Ra, Rz) and material removal rate according to “the-smaller-the-better” and “larger-the-better” criteria respectively. Taguchi response analysis is used to optimize the parameters influencing the objectives. To get good surface finish high cutting speed and lower feed rates has been found as optimal parameters of developed Al-TiB2 MMC.
Keywords: Aerospace Application, MMC, Taguchi Analysis, Tib2 Particle, Vacuum Stir Casting