Research Article
Experimental Investigation and Optimization of Material
Removal Rate and Tool Wear in the Machining of
Aluminum-Boron Carbide (Al-B
4
C) Nanocomposite Using
EDM Process
A. Arunnath,
1,2
S. Madhu ,
3
and Mebratu Tufa
4
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences,
Chennai 602105, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Vadapalani Campus,
SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
3
Department of Automobile Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences,
Chennai 602105, India
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Manufacturing, Institute of Technology, Hawassa University,
Hawassa, Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to S. Madhu; mathumarine@gmail.com and Mebratu Tufa; mebratu.tufa@hu.edu.et
Received 14 June 2022; Accepted 19 July 2022; Published 21 August 2022
Academic Editor: Vijayananth Kavimani
Copyright © 2022 A. Arunnath et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a cost-effective unconventional machining method used for machining any composites
materials. EDM is based on the thermoelectric energy between the electrode and workpiece. In this work, boron carbide particles
of 50 nm (6 wt.%) are reinforced with aluminum 7075 (94 wt.%) prepared using stir casting method. e stir casting process is
carried out at speed of 700–800 rev/min. e fabricated aluminum-boron carbide nanometal matrix composites are used as
workpiece (anode); copper electrode is used as tool (cathode). is work investigates the influence of EDM process parameters
such as current (I), pulse on-time (t
on
), and tool diameter (d) during machining of Al-B
4
C composite on metal removal rate
(MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR). e design of experimental plan is executed by Taguchi approach, and the responses of each
parameter are influenced by analysis of variances (ANOVA). Response table for average value of MRR and TWR shows that the
current is the significant parameter affecting MRR and TWR. From this work, it was observed that material removal rate increased
with increasing the current, and the tool wear rate decreases.
1. Introduction
e input parameters were optimized by Box Behnken
method, and quadratic model was suggested for output
responses. e prepared specimen is machined using elec-
trical discharge machining (EDM). e presence of graphite
nanopowders in dielectric fluid notably improved the sur-
face finish and enhanced MRR (material removal rate) and
EWR (electrode wear rate) [1, 2]. e input process pa-
rameters were optimized using L18 orthogonal array of
Taguchi Method on AISI D2 steel specimen machined by
electrical discharge machining (EDM). e electrical spark
vaporized on work material there after it has been flushed
out through fluid medium. It has been observed that in-
creasing current leads to increasing the surface roughness,
and CuW electrode prepared through powder metallurgy is
better than conventional Cu electrode [3, 4]. e silicon
powder mixed in dielectric fluid gives more MRR and better
surface roughness. EDM is a very important machining
method that is extensively and effectively used for the
machining of such materials, exactly and cost-effectively
within the high advance in business [5]. e experimental
Hindawi
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Volume 2022, Article ID 4254024, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4254024