Determination of an Optimum Parametric Combination Using a Surface Roughness Prediction Model for EDM of Al₂O₃/SiC_w/TiC Ceramic Composite

Abstract

Alumina has become one of the most popular ceramic materials used in wear-resistant and structural applications due to its attractive physical characteristics together with chemical inertness at elevated temperature. Its inherent brittleness and low fracture toughness make its machining difficult and consequently limit its utilization. Considerable improvement in mechanical properties of the single-phase alumina ceramic has been achieved by incorporating SiC whisker, TiC particles into Al₂O₃, which also allow electrical discharge machining (EDM) to fabricate components with complex geometry and widen the applications. This article presents an experimental investigation of the influence of parametric setting on machining performance during EDM of Al₂O₃/SiC_w/TiC ceramic composite. In EDM, machining parameters determine the quality of surface produced. Second order regression model has been developed for predicting surface roughness (SR) in terms of machining parameters using the response surface methodology. The significance of machining parameters selected has been established using analysis of variance. The surface roughness prediction model has been optimized using a trust region method. This methodology helps to determine the best possible parametric setting for electrical discharge machining of ceramic composite.

Keywords:

• Al₂O₃/SiC_w/TiC ceramic composite
• EDM
• Response surface methodology
• Surface roughness

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Mr. John J. Schuldies, President, Industrial Ceramic Technology Inc., Ann Arbor Michigan, USA, for providing help and support in procurement of the workpiece material for the research work.

Notes

*On leave from Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, Nirma University of Science and Technology, Ahmedabad, India.