Title: Investigation on the machining studies of AA6351-SiC-B4C hybrid metal matrix composites

Authors: S. Thirumalai Kumaran; M. Uthayakumar

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil – 626 126, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil – 626 126, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: This paper aims to access the machinability of aluminium alloy (6351) matrix reinforced with 5 wt.% silicon carbide (SiC) and 5 wt.% of boron carbide (B4C) subjected to continuous turning using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tool. Experiments were conducted based on L27 orthogonal array. Surface roughness, material removal rate and power consumption investigated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the level of importance of the cutting parameters. The experimental results indicated that the increase in feed rate and depth of cut increases the material removal rate. The power consumption was found to increase with increasing cutting speeds. The surface roughness was found to be low at lower cutting speed condition but found increasing with increased feed rate and depth of cut.

Keywords: machining; surface roughness; material removal rate; MRR; power consumption; analysis of variance; ANOVA; surface quality; hybrid MMCs; metal matrix composites; machinability; aluminium alloys; silicon carbide; boron carbide; polycrystalline diamond; PCD tools; feed rate; depth of cut; power consumption; cutting speed.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMM.2014.060548

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials, 2014 Vol.15 No.3/4, pp.174 - 185

Received: 06 Sep 2013
Accepted: 18 Oct 2013

Published online: 13 May 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article