Title: Microstructural investigation and multi response optimisation using Fuzzy-TOPSIS during the electrochemical machining of Inconel 825

Authors: Aveek Mohanty; Gangadharudu Talla; Shailesh Dewangan; Soumya Gangopadhyay

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India

Abstract: Low thermal conductivity and superior mechanical properties of nickel-based superalloys make them very useful in high-temperature applications. The same properties also make them very difficult-to-cut in conventional machining. Electrochemical machining (ECM) is one of the widely used non-traditional machining processes especially used for producing intricate or complex geometry on difficult-to-machine materials. The present study investigates the effect of various process parameters on performance characteristics such as material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) during the ECM of Inconel 825 using a copper tool. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to investigate the influence of process parameters on performance characteristics during machining. An attempt has also been made to study the microstructure of machined surface at different conditions and to correlate it with multiple performance characteristics. Moreover, Fuzzy-TOPSIS that uses closeness coefficient as performance index has been adapted to optimise various performance characteristics simultaneously and determine the optimal combination of ECM parameters.

Keywords: ECM; electrochemical machining; fuzzy TOPSIS; Inconel 825; MRR; material removal rate; microstructure; multi-response optimisation; surface roughness; surface quality; nickel-based superalloys; copper tooling; ANOVA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTECH.2015.073825

International Journal of Precision Technology, 2015 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.201 - 216

Received: 16 Apr 2015
Accepted: 12 Aug 2015
Published online: 23 Dec 2015 *

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