Optimization of Process Parameters for Silicon Carbide Powder Mixed EDM

Abstract

The present chapter deals with the investigations on the effect of process parameters like powder concentration (Cp), peak current (Ip), pulse-on-time (Ton), duty cycle (DC), and gap voltage (Vg) on output responses like material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), electrode wear ratio (EWR), surface roughness (SR), recast layer thickness (RLT), and micro-hardness (HVN) for PMEDM of H-11 hot work tool steel. Multi-objective optimization using grey relational analysis (GRA) has been implemented to identify the optimum set of input parameters to achieve maximum MRR and HVN with minimum TWR, EWR, SR, and RLT at the same time. Predicted results on verification with confirmation tests improve the preference values by 0.09468 with GRA. The recommended settings of process parameters is found to be Cp=6g/l, Ip=3Amp, Ton=100µs, DC=70%, and Vg=30V from GRA. The microstructures were examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) to find the presence of surface deformities and identify alterations on the surface in comparison to the base material.