Parametric estimation for AWJ cutting of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using Rat swarm optimization algorithm.

The kerf taper angle is one of the most significant parameters for AWJ cutting. Choosing the best cutting parameters is critical to reducing the kerf taper. Therefore, the aim of this work is to demonstrate on to implement RSM in conjunction with the Rat swarm optimizer algorithm to optimize the kerf taper angle of a Titanium alloy. Thirty-two number of experiments were conducted according to CCD considering five process parameters namely jet traverse rate, water jet pressure, abrasive flow rate, stand-off distance and diameter of focusing nozzle to achieve kerf taper angle. A second-order full quadratic model is used for mathematical modeling. The result demonstrates that the model is sufficiently adequate and acceptable. A recent Rat Swarm Optimization (RSO) algorithm is considered for finding out the global optimal solution. It is observed that after optimizing the process that the jet traverse rate of 1.952 mm/sec, water jet pressure of 250.548 MPa, abrasive flow rate of 0.554 kg/min, stand-off distance of 3.75 mm and diameter of focusing nozzle of 2.0 mm gives minimized with 0.754 degree of kerf taper angle. A series of verification tests are carried out to ensure that the optimization technique is accurate in determining the best levels of process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]