High temperature investigation on EDM process of Al 2618 alloy reinforced with Si3N4, ALN and ZrB2 in-situ composites

Abstract In this investigation, Aluminium Matrix Composite (AMC) has implicated in this paper. The Aluminium 2618 alloy is taken as the Matrix material along with Reinforcement particles such as Silicon Nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), Aluminium Nitride (ALN) and Zirconium Boride (Zrb 2 ). It is well mixed with Al 2618 alloy in various weight percentages (Wt. % = 0,2,4,6,8) by stir casting method. The Mechanical properties like hardness, tensile strength, compressive Strength for Al 2618 composites were increased along with increasing Wt. % of reinforcement. A new attempt has been tried to optimize the parameters to obtain minimum value in Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Rate (TWR) and Depth (mm) through Electrical Discharge machining process (EDM) at elevated temperatures. The input process parameters are taken for the machining is Temperature (°C), Pulse ON (μS), Pulse OFF (μS) and Current (Amps). Taguchi L 25 orthogonal array was used to identify the optimize parameter is MRR, TWR and Depth. Each parameters contribution in percentage was calculated by the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The exact input and output parameters were examined with help of Genetic Algorithm (GA).