Experimental investigation and multi Response optimization of process Parameters in abrasive waterjet Machining process on titanium Alloyti6al4v

Abstract

Modern industries demand structures fabricated from materials which are very difficult to process. The complexity of profile requires challenging machinability, flexibility with reduced cutting forces and zero thermal distortions. The technology of Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) machining satisfies all the former mentioned requirements. It is used extensively in the fields of automobile, marine, aerospace, power production and chemical processing industries. Non-traditional materials used in these fields require high strength and load bearing capabilities. One such material is the Titanium Alloy (Ti 6Al 4V) fulfilling modern industrial needs with intrinsic and complex features. In this research work, a novel attempt to understand the AWJM of Titanium Alloy (Ti 6Al 4V) has been attempted. Also various process parameters involved in the machining operation need understanding with respect to the responses . It is identified that the work done so far in the topic of AWJM, has a lack of investigation on the effect of abrasive properties such as grain size, abrasive materials, a combination of abrasive grain size and number of passes on the overall cut profile of the work piece. Experiments were conducted with input parameters like abrasive mesh size, abrasive flow rate and number of passes. Responses measured were depth of cut, material removal rate, taper angle and top kerf width. Experimentation was done with the single pass, double pass with opposite direction and double pass with same direction in AWJM process on the work piece chosen. Taguchi s orthogonal array design of L27 was used with three levels for each of the input parameters. newline