Analysis and modeling of surface characteristics in electrophoretic deposition–assisted internal polishing of AISI 304 steel

Abstract

This article reports inner surface characteristics of AISI 304 steel pipe by electrophoretic deposition–assisted polishing (EPDAP). Electrophoretic deposition is based on the principle of electrophoresis in combination with deposition of abrasives on tool electrode. The screening experiments were planned using one factor at a time approach and main experiments were conducted using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array design. The process parameters selected were grit size, polishing time, and polishing tool rotational speed. The response variables selected were percentage reduction in surface roughness (PRSR-Ra) and percentage increase in reflectivity (PIRL). The optimum polishing performance for PRSR-Ra obtained is 87.93% at abrasive grit size of 3000, polishing time of 30 min, and polishing tool rotational speed of 200 rpm. The optimum reflectivity performance for the PIRL obtained is 69.07% at abrasive grit size of 3000, polishing time of 30 min, and polishing tool rotational speed of 300 rpm. The surface roughness (Ra) achieved is 0.035 μm (35 nm).