Nanoparticle Incorporation to Enhance Titanium Alloy Electric Discharge Machining Capabilities

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of the Powder-blended Micro Electric Discharge Machining (PMEDM) technique on micromachining applications, specifically when sea water is employed as the dielectric medium. Tiny apertures with a width of 200µm were punctured over Ti-6Al-4V plates. In the initial round of experimentation, the machining performance was evaluated by subjecting sea water to various process variables without the inclusion of any other ingredients. The effects of input variables, including electrode material, hole voltage, current, Pulse-on-time, and Duty factor, on the Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Rate (TWR), Overcut (OC), Circularity Error (CE), and Taper Ratio (TR) were analysed by conducting tests in accordance with Taguchi's L18 plan design. The method employed to ascertain the optimal parametric configuration for multi-objective enhancement involved utilising the strategy of soliciting inclination based on similarity to an ideal arrangement. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of foreign materials on the dielectric-based miniature electrical discharge machining (EDM) process in sea water. This was achieved by utilising powders with varying weight concentrations and molecule sizes, including non-conductive (Al2O3), semi-conductive (SiC), and conductive (Al) powders. The experimental setup ensured that the variable boundaries were maintained at their ideal settings. The results indicate that the choice of tool has a notable influence on the functioning of micro EDM when sea water is employed as the dielectric, without the inclusion of extraneous particles. The performance metric of multi-objective execution in PMEDM is influenced by the conductivity of supplementary compounds. An 83.18 percent increase in Material Removal Rate (MRR) was observed when SiC added compounds were utilised in Powder Mixed Electrical Discharge Machining (PMEDM). Conversely, there was a drop in Tool Wear Rate (TWR) by 36.42 percent, Open Circuit voltage (OC) by 21.48 percent, Current Efficiency (CE) by 45.15 percent, and Tool Roughness (TR) by 22.87 percent.