Analysis of surface roughness and wear resistance in low plasticity burnishing process using multi-objective optimization technique

Abstract

To improve the mechanical properties of components, low surface plastic deformation caused by low plasticity burning (LPB) process is studied. Multi-objective optimization of process parameters for low plasticity burning on aluminum alloy AA6061T6 has been performed in the present analysis. The burning process parameters are considered for each of four levels such as pressure, speed, ball diameter, ball material, and number of passes. Consideration is given to response parameters such as surface roughness and wear resistance. Experimentation was conducted by considering the Taguchi method design matrix and the orthogonal array L16.In the current research work, multi-objective optimisation was carried out using the Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) technique. The technique is found useful for minimizing roughness of the surface and maximizing wear resistance. After the roughness of the burning surface decreased from 0.688 μm to 0.2593 μm, wear rate also decreased from 4.3076 × 10–3 mm3/Nm to 2.1380 × 10–3 mm3/Nm. The results of the optimization showed that the roughness of the surface decreased by 62%, where the wear rate decreased by 50% compared with the surface turned. The results of multi-objective optimization showed that burnishing pressure and burnishing speed are the important parameters for minimizing surface roughness and maximizing wear resistance.