Optimization of Process Parameters for Electro-Chemical Machining of EN19

Abstract

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a non-conventional machining process that is used for machining of hard-to-machine materials. The ECM process is widely used for the machining of metal matrix composites. However, it is very essential to select optimum values of input process parameters to maximize the machining performance. However, the optimization of the output process parameters and hence the machining performance is a difficult task. In this chapter an attempt has been made to carry out single and multiple optimization of the material removal rate (MRR) and the surface roughness (SR) for the ECM process of EN19 using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique. The input parameter considered for the optimization are electrolyte concentration (%), voltage (V), feed rate (mm/min), and inter-electrode gap (mm). The optimum value of MRR and SR as found using the PSO algorithm are 0.1847 cm3/min and 25.0612, respectively.