Nanoabrasives-Assisted Abrasive Water Jet Machining of Bio-Composites — An Experimental and Optimization Approach

Abstract

In recent years, biocomposites are developed to tackle the environmental legislation towards sustainable growth with renewable resources. Biocomposites are the most promising materials owing to their high strength-to-weight ratio and competitive cost. Among several biocomposites, Jute fiber and wood plastic composites (WPC) are preferred due to their wide applicability and availability. Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is a proven process for machining such biocomposites as it overcomes the drawbacks of conventional machining processes such as delamination and heat generation. In this work, experimental investigations for the effect of AWJM process parameters such as Standoff Distance, Traverse Speed and Water Pressure on responses Surface Roughness (Ra) and Kerf Taper Angle (Ta) for Jute Fiber and WPC through nanoabrasives-assisted AWJM have been carried out. The experiments are designed using response surface methodology (RSM) and further optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA). It is observed that water pressure is the most significant parameter irrespective of the material since higher pressure always yields better results compared to the lower pressure owing to the kinetic energy (impact) and molecular dynamics of abrasives. Further, this work explores the applicability of nanosized aluminum oxide as abrasives and results show that nanoparticles have significantly improved the surface finish.