Abstract
Abstract
There is a huge demand for mechanical components with long life cycles and superior surface finishes as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Several methods for nano-finishing complex structures, including abrasive flow machining (AFM), have been developed in response to the need for superior surface finish. In AFM, abrasion only happens in locations where flow is restricted. This property makes AFM useful in polishing the interior, inaccessible cavities and recesses of the metallic parts using a semi-liquid paste. This paper focuses on investigating the impact of process parameters on material removal, and percentage improvement in surface roughness on cylindrical brass workpieces using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. The number of cycles, extrusion pressure, and grit size of abrasives have been selected as process parameters. The abrasive medium employed in this investigation is composed of a blend of polymer, hydrocarbon gel, and aluminium oxide abrasive particles with varying grit sizes. The minimum value of roughness after AFM has been achieved 4.25 microns, and the maximum %ΔRa has been achieved 28%. The number of cycles that have the largest percentage contribution to material removal was 83.74%. Whereas, the percentage contributions of the abrasive particle grit size and extrusion pressure are 2.03%, and 14.16%, respectively. N2P2G3 is the optimal level of process parameters used for material removal. Similarly, the number of cycles has the largest percentage contribution of 83.48% in surface roughness. Whereas extrusion pressure and grit size contribute 7.38%, and 8.88% in surface roughness. The optimal level of process parameters that have been attained in the case of surface roughness is N3P2G3.