Mechanical and Sliding Wear Performance of AA356-Al2O3/SiC/Graphite Alloy Composite Materials: Parametric and Ranking Optimization Using Taguchi DOE and Hybrid AHP-GRA Method

Abstract

The novelty of this research work lies in (i) designing and fabrication of hybrid AA356-Al2O3/SiC/Graphite alloy composite materials via semi-automatic stir casting method as per the standard industrial procedure. The ceramic particulates Al2O3/SiC were reinforced in a complementary manner (0–8 wt.%, in the step of 2%) along with constant 3 wt.% of graphite bringing about five alloy composite specimens namely SA-08, SA-26, SA-44, SA-62, and SA-80 respectively. The prepared specimens were explored for any synergistic effect of ceramic combinations on physical (density and void content), mechanical (tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness), and sliding wear performance adopting ASTM standards. Simultaneously, optimization of sliding wear process parameters (like sliding velocity, sliding distance, normal load, etc.) using the Taguchi design of experiment and Grey Relational Analysis techniques were explored. Further, surface micrographs were analyzed to understand the underlying wear mechanisms and elemental presence/dispersion over the worn-out surfaces. Thereafter, the ranking of compositions was analyzed using a hybrid AHP-GRA material selection method for optimal selection and recommendations. It has been found that both Taguchi and GRA techniques were effective in parameter optimization and gives an attuned outcome. Composition, SA-44 hybrid alloy composite, having the equal presence of both the ceramic particulates tend to optimize the overall performance criteria. The results of ranking obtained by hybrid AHP-GRA analysis attunes to the subjective analysis.