Preliminary Investigations of Low Plasticity Burnishing Process on Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

AbstractSurface modifications and surface treatments have a significant impact on the service life of so many critical parts of various materials being used in industrial applications. As a result, significant attention has been given to post-machining processes because traditional machining operations such as turning and milling and so on develop surfaces with inherent discrepancies and inadequacies. As a result, a surface finishing operation is required to eliminate these irregularities while also improving other surface properties such as surface roughness, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance. Low plasticity burnishing (LPB) process was used to enhance mechanical characteristics of components, which were subjected to low surface plastic deformation. In this present research work, sensitive analysis of low plasticity burnishing process parameters with different mechanical properties of aluminum alloy, i.e., AA6061T6 has been performed. The burnishing process parameters considered are speed, pressure, ball diameter, number of passes, and ball material. Mechanical properties considered for analysis are wear resistance, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance. The outcomes of sensitive analysis demonstrated that surface roughness has most significance in burnishing process. Wear resistance and corrosion resistance properties are having strong correlation with surface roughness. Each burnishing process parameter has specific significance for improvement in mechanical properties.KeywordsSurface roughnessCorrosion resistanceWear resistanceLow plasticity burnishingFatigue life