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Effect of process variables on metal removal rate in electrochemical machining of Al-B4C composites | Abstract
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Abstract

Effect of process variables on metal removal rate in electrochemical machining of Al-B4C composites

Author(s): S. Rama Rao, G. Padmanabhan

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is an advanced machining process belonging to electrochemical category. It is now routinely used for the machining of aerospace components, critical deburring, fuel injection system components, dies and moulds etc. The important process variables of ECM process are feed rate, electrolyte flow rate, current, voltage, inter electrode gap, electrolyte concentration, type of electrolyte, etc. which affects the process responses like metal removal rate, radial over cut, surface finish, tool life, and production cost. The responses also depend largely on the workpiece material physical and electrical properties. In composites the physical and electrical properties depends on the percentage of reinforcement of particulates in the metal matrix. The salient feature of the present research is that percentage of reinforcement is considered as one of the input parameter along with the voltage, feed rate and electrolyte concentration and varied within the selected range to study the metal removal rate (MRR) of ECM of LM6 Al-B4C metal matrix composites produced through stir casting process. Mathematical model for MRR was developed based on response surface methodology (RSM). Surface plots are generated to study the effect of input parameters on MRR. The developed models are tested for their prediction accuracy using twenty experimental test cases and observed that the predicted values are closely related with the experimental values.