B.K. Sridhara

Comparative Study on the Machinability Aspects of Aluminium Silicon Carbide and Aluminium Graphite Composites

Aluminium matrix composites find wide applications in the present industrial scenario due to their desirable properties. Study of the effect of process parameters on machinability of aluminium matrix composites is of paramount importance in the field of manufacturing engineering. Machining of a composite depends on the properties and relative content of the reinforcement and the matrix materials as well as on its response to the machining process. In this article, investigations on the machinability aspects of aluminium–silicon carbide and aluminium–graphite composites are presented. Experiments have been carried out through the Design of Experiments technique and regression machinability models have been developed, which express the degree to which the resultant force depends upon the cutting parameters and the percentage of reinforcement present in the aluminium matrix composites machined. A comparative study of the effect of cutting parameters on the resultant force has been presented.

Comparative study on the machinability aspects of aluminium-silicon carbide and aluminium-graphite-silicon carbide hybrid composites

Aluminium matrix particulate composites are one of the materials finding wide ranging applications in automobile, aerospace and military industries because of their attractive properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high wear resistance, high temperature stability, etc. Though most engineering components aluminium matrix particulate composites are primarily manufactured in near net shape, machining is often required for tolerance and surface integrity control. This paper presents the result of an experimental investigation on the comparative machinability of aluminium-silicon carbide composites and aluminium-graphite-silicon carbide hybrid composites during turning using carbide tool inserts. The experiments have been carried out based on central composite design of experiments approach. The influence of machining parameters viz. cutting speed, feed and depth of cut on the resultant force has been analysed statistically. It is established that hybrid composites have better machinability when compared to aluminium-silicon carbide composites. Contour plots of constant resultant force have been developed for Al-SiC and Al-Graphite-SiC hybrid composites.

Machinability Studies on Aluminium Matrix Hybrid Composites

Aluminium metal matrix composites due to their excellent properties like high strength to weight ratio and high wear resistant are becoming new generation of materials useful for various engineering applications. A continuing problem with these composites is that they are difficult to machine. Machining of these composites depends on the relative content of the reinforcement and the matrix material as well as on its response to the machining process. Experimental investigations have been carried out on the machinability aspects of Aluminium hybrid composites reinforced with Graphite and Silicon Carbide particulates. Experiments have been carried out by Design of Experiments approach. Mathematical models which correlate the interactive and higher order influences of cutting parameters on the resultant force have been developed.

Effect of infrared cure parameters on the mechanical properties of polymer composite laminates

In this study, an attempt has been made to use infrared radiation curing as an alternative to conventional thermal curing for glass fiber-reinforced epoxy amine matrix composites in order to reduce the curing time without compromising on the properties of composite. Central composite design experimental technique is used to study the influence of infrared cure parameters. Distance from infrared source to composite laminate (A), curing schedule (B), and volume (C) of the composite were the factors considered, tensile and flexural strength were the responses measured to study the effect of process parameters. ANOVA, regression analysis was used to build the models. Contour and overlaid graphs were drawn to understand the relationship between the factors. It is shown that it is possible to achieve tensile strength and flexural strength of around 400 MPa with the IR curing schedule of 70 min. IR curing of polymer composites can be a viable alternative to thermal curing.

Machinability Assessment of Aluminium-Graphite-Silicon Carbide Hybrid Composites

Aluminium silicon carbide particulate composites have wide ranging applications in automobile, aerospace and military industries because of their attractive properties such as high strength-to weight ratio, high wear resistance, high temperature stability etc. From the machining point of view, these are one of the most difficult-to-machine materials, primarily due to the presence of SiC reinforcements causing an excessive wear of cutting tools during machining. On the other hand aluminium-graphite composites are widely used in tribological applications because of their excellent antifriction properties, wear resistance and antiseizure characteristics. Investigations have been carried out in this work to assess the machinability of aluminium matrix composites containing both SiC and graphite particulates as reinforcements. Turning experiments have been conducted on Aluminium-Graphite-Silicon Carbide hybrid composites using Carbide and PCD tool inserts to determine the flank wear. Experiments have been carried out based on Central Composite Design approach.