Title: Optimisation of aluminium-based hybrid surface composites produced via friction stir processing using Taguchi technique

Authors: Ravi Butola; Mohit Tyagi; Anshul Chaudhary; Pankaj Raj Meena; Kartikeya Bector; Shantilal Meena

Addresses: Department Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, India ' Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India ' Department Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, India ' Department Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, India ' Department Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajasthan Technical University, Rajasthan 324010, India

Abstract: There is a dire need for sustainable technologies to be used in the industry and friction stir processing (FSP) is very eco-friendly in that regard. Moreover, the use of natural fibres' ash has been steadily increasing in the industry. In this work, we have explored three different composites viz. Al reinforced with SiC (2%wt), Al reinforced with aloe vera (2%wt), and Aluminium matrix reinforced with both SiC and aloe vera in the same ratio. FSP is applied for the production of surface composites by incorporation of reinforcement in the matrix. The results showed that hardness value is increased with rotational speed and better distribution of reinforcement, which enhance the hardness of the composites. It is observed that rotation speed is the most significant parameter. We used the Taguchi method for optimisation of hardness, with reinforcement and tool rotational speed as variable parameters. The optimised sample was found to be at 1,000 rpm with SiC reinforcement.

Keywords: friction stir processing; FSP; aloe vera ash; SiC; composite; Taguchi.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMSS.2021.121272

International Journal of Sustainable Materials and Structural Systems, 2021 Vol.5 No.4, pp.357 - 368

Received: 20 Feb 2021
Accepted: 27 May 2021
Published online: 03 Mar 2022 *

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