An experimental design and theoretical analysis of squeeze casting parameters for 2017A aluminium alloy

Abstract

In this paper, the Taguchi method has been applied to evaluate the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and microhardness tests of 2017 A aluminium alloy produced by direct squeeze casting. The control factors such as, the squeeze pressure, melt temperature and die preheating temperature, were selected as squeeze casting parameters. The optimum casting parameters for the mechanical properties were predicted, and the individual importance of each parameter on the response characteristic was evaluated by examining the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) results. The statistical results revealed that the squeeze pressure has the higher effect on the mechanical properties, followed by the melt temperature. In addition, the empirical equations were applied to predict the outcomes of the experiment. The predicted values and measured values were very close to each other. Confirmation test results showed that the Taguchi method was very successful.