Experimental Investigation and Optimization of the Effect of Burnishing Process Parameters on Surface Roughness and Hardness of Al 2036

Abstract

Abstract Surface roughness and hardness of work pieces have been always of great importance in the manufacturing industry. Burnishing as a surface treatment process is taken into consideration as a result of its great effect on surface quality. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of roller burnishing process parameters on roughness and hardness of work pieces for aluminum 2036 alloy. Burnishing speed (Vc), feed rate (Vf), applied force (F) and depth of penetration (Dp) are assumed as the input parameters. In the experimental procedure, tests were designed based on Central Composite Design (CCD) design of experiments. A quadratic regression model for the surface roughness reduction is proposed and a parametric study is performed based on the developed model. Finally, the process parameters were optimized in order to achieve the lowest value of surface roughness. The results indicate that following the burnishing process, the average surface roughness of 31 samples decreased by 49.7% and the average surface hardness increased by 25.1%. By applying the optimal process parameters, A roughness reduction of 1.19 Ra (84%) was achieved, which was predicted by the model with an error of 8.4%.