On wire spark erosion machining induced surface integrity of Ni55.8Ti shape memory alloys

Abstract

Ni55.8Ti shape memory alloys (SMAs) find applications in different fields of medical and engineering. In every field, surface integrity greatly affects the functional performance of shape memory alloy parts. In the present work, wire spark erosion machining of Ni55.8Ti shape memory alloys has been conducted and surface integrity parameters of the machined specimens have been evaluated. Experiments are designed using Taguchi L16 robust design of experiment technique. Effect of important process parameters, i.e. voltage, pulse-on time and pulse-off time on maximum surface roughness has been studied. Deterioration in surface integrity at various combinations of pulse-on and pulse-of time which produced high discharge energy has been observed. Scanned electron microscopic investigation, energy dispersive spectroscopy and XRD analyses, roughness measurement, and micro-hardness testing results are presented, analyzed and discussed. Optimization of process parameters resulted in surface integrity enhancement with low roughness (Rt – 7.78μm and Ra – 1.45μm) and very thin recast layer (4–6μm) along with minimum subsurface defects.