PARAMETER STUDY ON ABRASIVE WATERJET CUTTING OF B4C

COMPOSITE USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY (RSM)

INTRODUCTION

Waterjet in either pure form or mixed with abrasives can perform machining on the

difficult to cut materials like Inconel, brass, titanium etc. The abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJC)

is characterized by the absence of micro-cracking and thermal effects on the cut surface, unlike

the cutting strategies employing plasma or laser [1-2]. The principle involves the transformation

of available pressure energy of water into kinetic energy by passing it through a small opening

(orifice) to perform the required operation. It was found that the cutting parameters like pressure

of waterjet, speed of cut, abrasive flow rate, jet angle and stand-off distance play an important

role in determining the quality characteristics of the cut surface [3]. The study of parameters and

their effects on the quality characteristics was utmost important for off-line quality control and

an optimal combination of parameters was essential to obtain better cut surface characteristics

[4].Many techniques like artificial neural network (ANN), grey relational analysis (GRA),

genetic algorithm (GA), response surface methodology (RSM), principal component analysis

(PCA) and fuzzy based methods were used to find the optimal combination of parameters in

various manufacturing processes [5].

From the review of existing literature, it was observed that study of striation zone and

striation length in AWJC of B4C composites was limited and that little attention was given to the

study involving the surface characteristics related to the striation. The application of RSM in

studying of striation characteristics is also scarce. Hence, the response surface methodology

(RSM) is utilized for simultaneous optimization of AWJC parameters to reduce the surface

roughness, striation zone length and angle.

 OBJECTIVES
Since the quality of a cutting process is estimated with quality characteristics of the cut

surface, design of parameter to provide better cut surface quality is intended as a main objective

of this work. Moreover, the following objectives are includedwith this research work.

 To provide an informative report about abrasive waterjet cutting in the cutting of

Al6061/20% B4C composite.

 To study the microstructure of the fractured surface through FESEM images to identify

the impact of the reinforcements on the bond properties.

 To obtain an optimal parameter design using response surface methodology (RSM)

approach and desirability analysis.

 To generate a second order polynomial model to each response so as to predict the

response value within the design space.

 To find out the individual effect of parameters on responses using 3D response surface

plots generated using RSM and to study the relationship between the influence of

parameters on the responses.

 To offer a solution to the problems arises during the cutting of aluminium composites

using abrasive waterjet machining process.

 To offer the essential guidelines for cuttingAl6061/20% B4C composites using AWJC

process.
 PLAN OF ACTION

The methodology of experimentation and further analysis is shown in different phases as

described in Figure 1.

Procurement of Raw Materials

Aluminum 6061
B4C power

Casting of AL6061/B4C plate using stir casting

Design of Experiments

Experimental Design
Conduct the experiments
Observation of data (Surface Roughness, Material removal rate, Taper
angle)

Analysis

Analyze the observed data using RSM

Generate a mathematical model

Study of response surface graphs

Report Writing

Consolidate the results, endorsement trials

Report Writing

Figure 1. Methodology of experimentation and further analysis

 MANAGEMENT OF PLAN

Plan of action Period (days)

Procurement of raw material (Al6061 alloy, B4C powder) 25

Casting the hybrid MMC plate for experimentation 20

Inspection of cast plates 15

Identification of parameters and their levels by pilot study 18

Conducting experiments as per Taguchi’s DOE 14

Surface characteristics evaluation 15

Parameter design and analysis using RSM 5

Experimental validation of analysis 5

Report preparation 15

Estimated time to complete this work 132 days

 DETAILS OF FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

The detailed financial requirement for the proposed project is submitted below. The
proposed budget for the project is Rs 27, 100/-

S.No Details of non-recurring expenditure Estimated

cost in Rs
1 Raw material (Al6061 alloy) 2500
2 Raw material (B4C powder) 2500
3 Fabrication charges 7500
4 Inspection of cast samples (X-ray radiography) 4000
5 EDX elemental analysis 1500
6 Charges for experimental trails 2700
7 Testing of surface characteristics 5400
8 FESEM images 2500
9 EDX elemental analysis 1500
8 Miscellaneous 1500
TOTAL (Rs) 27,100

References
[1] M.Santhanakumar, R.Adalarasan, M.Rajmohan. (2015) “Experimental Modelling and Analysis in
Abrasive Waterjet Cutting of Ceramic Tiles Using Grey-Based Response Surface Methodology”,
Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, DOI: 10.1007/s13369-015-1775-x
[2] R. Adalarasan, M. Santhanakumar and M. Rajmohan, (2015), “Application of grey Taguchi based
response surface methodology (GT-RSM) for optimizing the plasma arc cutting parameters of 304L
stainless steel”, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 78, 1161-1170.
[3] M.Santhanakumar, R.Adalarasan, M.Rajmohan, (2015), “Parameter design for cut surface
characteristics in abrasive waterjet cutting of Al/SiC/Al2O3 composite using grey theory based
RSM”, Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, Accepted for publication and Article in
Press.
[4] J. Kechagias, G. Petropoulos and N. Vaxevanidis (2012), “Application of Taguchi design for
quality characterization of abrasive water jet machining of TRIP sheet steels”, International
Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 62(5-8), 635–643.

[5] R. Jeyapaul, P. Shahabudeen and K. Krishnaiah. (2005) “Quality management research by

considering multi-response problems in the Taguchi method - A review”, International Journal of
Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 26(11-12), 1331–1337.