Optimization of AA6351-SiC-B4C Hybrid Composites in Wire EDM Using Grey Relation Technique

Composite materials are identified to be an alternate solution for the present-day problems pertaining to the reduction of the weight of the components without compromising on their strength and stiffness. The application of the different reinforcements improves the mechanical or thermal properties of the base matrix material related to the application and the heterogeneous nature of the composite material adds flexibility in the design. The manufacturing methods of the composites have also improved in the recent past to ensure that the Reinforcements are properly distributed in the base matrix. Machining a hard composite using conventional techniques is tedious, time-consuming, and will lead to higher tool wear. Therefore, non-conventional machining processes were adopted for the machining of the composite material which can be carried out using inexpensive tooling, The present work aims at optimization of the machining parameters and helps in providing better productivity and cost-effectiveness. The material identified for the optimization was AA6351-SiC-B4C hybrid composites which have widespread application in the nuclear industry. This work aimed at the optimization of the parameters by employing Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for the identification of the optimum parameters. The current was identified to be the major contributing parameter for the machining of the composite for the output parameters considered. The optimum values for all the composites were identified to be at 12A current.100 µs Pulse on time and feed rate of wire at 8m/min irrespective of the percentage variation of B4C. It can be identified that the optimum values identified are independent of the reinforcement percentage and therefore, can be adopted for all the percentages of B4C in the composite.