Taguchi Experimental Design Technique Research Articles

Recovery of samarium and cobalt/iron oxide from SmCo magnets through acid baking and water leaching

AbstractRare earth elements (REEs) and cobalt (Co) are listed as critical raw materials because of their importance in global industrial production growth, high supply risk, and economic significance. The recovery of Co and REEs from secondary resources is therefore proposed as a key countermeasure to address this concern. In this study, a straightforward process that integrates acid baking and water leaching is proposed for the recovery of samarium (Sm) and Co from scrap SmCo magnets. Firstly, the chemical composition of SmCo magnets is revealed by ICP-OES and XRF. The Taguchi experimental design technique is employed to optimize nitric acid baking and water leaching. Based on the thermal decomposition behavior of Co, Fe, and Sm, the acid baking temperature is studied for the conversion of metal nitrates, excluding REEs nitrates, into metal oxides. The optimal conditions for acid baking and water leaching are identified, and a reactor for the pilot-scale acid baking process is proposed. The optimum parameters are tested with the proposed reactor.

Advancements in Soil Stabilization: The Efficacy of Fly Ash and GGBS

Engineered soil qualities can be modified mechanically, chemically, or biologically to achieve soil stabilisation. Soil stabilisation is a method used in civil engineering to enhance and enhance a soil’s structural qualities. Mechanical strength, permeation, compressibility, resilience, and plasticity are some of these attributes. The systematic investigation of soil stabilization with fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as binders is presented in this work. The goal of using geopolymer technology is to enhance the mechanical qualities of clay soils for the building of road pavement by substituting conventional cementitious materials. The ideal ratio of Fly Ash to GGBS is found using a Taguchi experimental design technique, more precisely a L9 Orthogonal Array, with the goal of improving soil liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index. The effectiveness of various Fly Ash and GGBS ratios is assessed, as well as their influence on soil behavior. In order to develop models for predicting soil parameters, regression analysis is used. Diagnostic plots show a reasonable fit but also highlight small amounts of unexplained variability. These discoveries have important ramifications for sustainable construction methods and are essential for improving soil stabilizing procedures, especially when it comes to road pavement engineering.

A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF FIBER CONTENT AND FIBER ORIENTATION ON THE TENSILE STRENGTH OF GLASS FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITE FOR PIPE PRODUCTION: A STATISTICAL APPROACH

This study was aimed at optimizing the development parameters of a glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite for pipeline application. In this study, the Taguchi experimental design technique was applied to determine the best combination of process parameters (fiber content and orientation) for optimum tensile strength. The optimum tensile strength of 209.65MPa was reported at the fiber content of 50% and Fiber orientation of 45º. Analysis of variance also showed that in optimizing for high tensile strength, the glass fiber content and the fiber orientation are significant factors. The material at optimum tensile properties was applied in the simulation of the behavior of a high-pressured gas pipeline and results proved the reliability of the material in such application.

Optimization of Production Parameters in Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Manufacturing by Using Taguchi Method

Optimization of process conditions in oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing is a very important issue for both reducing cost and improving the quality of panels. Taguchi experimental design technique was applied to determination and optimization of the most influential controlling parameters of OSB panels such as press condition (pressure-time-temperature) and the ratio of adhesive parameters on modulus of elasticity (MOE). The value of the MOE is one of the very important mechanical properties of OSB panels. For this purpose, several experiments were conducted according to Taguchi L27 orthogonal design. The signal-to-noise (S/N) and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to find the optimum levels and to indicate the impact of the controlling parameters on MOE. A verification test was also performed to prove the effectiveness of Taguchi technique. Since the predicted and the measured values were very close to each other, it was concluded that the Taguchi method was very successful in the optimization of effective parameters in OSB’s manufacturing.

Compressive strength optimization of geopolymer mortar made from alkaline liquid comprising acidic water

Potable water is required for survival, and when demand exceeds supply, preserving every drop makes logical sense. The purpose of this study is to identify the optimal levels of selected processing parameters to maximize the 28 days compressive strength of geopolymer mortar created using alkaline liquid comprising hydrochloric acid. In order to maximize the 28 days compressive strength of geopolymer mortar, Taguchi's experimental design technique has been used for optimizing control process parameters. Experiments were performed using an orthogonal array L25 (35) comprising three control parameters, all with five-stages. Demineralized water that has been spiked with various amounts of hydrochloric acid (laboratory produced synthetic water), sodium hydroxide solution of varying molarity, and different alkaline liquid ratios were used as control processing parameters. To evaluate the impact of selected control processing settings on compressive strength, the signal-to-noise ratio, analysis of variance, and characterization test analysis (x-ray diffraction) were employed. The optimum processing conditions were found to be 100 mg/L HCl in demineralized water, 12 M NaOH solution, and 0.5 ratios of alkaline liquid, resulting in a maximum compressive strength of 34 N/mm2 after 28 days. Additionally, from characterization testing, it was evident that the inclusion of HCl in the matrix did not result in the development of a new phase.

Integrated ion exchange-based system for nitrate and sulfate removal from water of different matrices: Analysis and optimization using response surface methodology and Taguchi experimental design techniques

Although sequestering nitrate by anion exchange resins (AERs) is a proven and well-established technology, many process problems and challenges still exist, such as interference, nitrate dumping, total dissolved solids (TDS) limitations, brine waste disposal, etc. An engineered-integrated approach was devised and assessed to mitigate such limitations. The overall process optimization was based on screening, analyzing, and optimizing each respective step. A front-end sulfate removal step was suggested, evaluated, which yielded removal efficiencies >95%. Back-end options were also introduced, including reduced brine and brine wastes, recycling possibility, and usage as mixed-fertilizer with a NO3/Cl ratio of 0.65 as confirmed by mass balance calculations. Taguchi robust designs (TRD), Box-Behnken Designs (BBD), and central composite design (CCD) experimental design methods were used, enabling information mining from a minimum number of experiments. A one-factor-at-a-time strategy was applied and the regeneration process was optimized using TRD. Response analysis and regression revealed that acid concentration and volume are the most influential factors. Selectivity order was determined as SO42-->Cl−>HCO3− according to their relative coefficients of the BBD and CCD regression models. Field trials confirmed the robustness and viability of the proposed integrated approach. A process flow diagram was devised. Merits of the proposed system include: a) possible resolution of sulfate competition and nitrate dumping, b) elimination of brine waste problems, c) tolerate higher TDS levels than ever possible for AERs, d) improved economics, e) improved process robustness, f) mitigate the corrosiveness of produced water, and g) fulfilling zero liquid discharge criteria.

Experimental analysis and optimization of mechanical properties of FDM-processed polylactic acid using Taguchi design of experiment

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most used additive manufacturing processes in the current time. Predicting the impact of different 3D printing parameters on the quality of printed parts is one of the critical challenges facing researchers. The present paper aims to examine the effect of three FDM process parameters, namely deposition velocity, extrusion temperature, and raster orientation on the bending strength, stiffness, and deflection at break of polylactic acid (PLA) parts using Taguchi design of experiment technique. The results indicate that the temperature has the highest impact on the mechanical properties of PLA specimens followed by the velocity and the orientation. The optimum composition offering the best mechanical behavior was determined. The optimal predicted response was 159.78 N, 39.92 N/mm, and 12.55 mm for the bending strength, bending stiffness, and deflection at break, respectively. The R2 obtained from analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed good agreement between the experimental results and those predicted using a regression model.

Optimization of Abrasive Wear Behaviour of Cenosphere Filled Basalt-Epoxy Composites Using Taguchi Approach

The current research work investigates the three-body abrasive wear analysis of cenosphere particulate filled chopped basalt fiber (40 wt.% constant) reinforced epoxy composites for developing light weight, low cost, and sustainable composite. The effect of cenosphere particulate on the composite was investigated. The composite laminates are fabricated by traditional open mold casting technique. The cenosphere particulate is mixed (0-15 wt.%, step of 5 wt.%) in the composites. Abrasive wear process input parameters like: filler loading, normal load, sliding distance, and abrasive size are optimize by using Taguchi design of experiments. From the results, it is clearly seen that 10 wt.% cenosphere filled basalt-epoxy composite (EBC 10) shows lowest abrasive wear rate in a steady state abrasive wear condition (with a variation in sliding distance and normal load). Taguchi experimental design technique is an effective optimization technique and gives a better outcome.

A column generation approach for an inventory routing problem with fuzzy time windows

This paper proposes a novel approach towards inventory routing problems with fuzzy time windows considering customer satisfaction for arrival intervals. In the presented model, a multi-priority structure for visiting the customers is proposed. In this study, customers are divided into three categories according to their features. These features have different degrees of importance from the distributer’s perspective. The satisfaction level of customers plays an important role in the decision of the supplier to fulfill their demand in each period. Since the proposed model is characterized as a highly complex problem, a decomposition-based heuristic approach is developed to obtain a high-quality solution in reasonable computational time. Moreover, to properly calibrate the parameters of the developed algorithm and decrease the number of experiments, Taguchi experimental design technique is utilized to measure the efficiency of the parameter. Comparing the obtained results with previous studies indicates that the presented procedure outperforms similar heuristic-based solution techniques proposed in the relevant literature. Finally, the practical application of the proposed model is discussed by studying a real-world case study of a blood distribution system in Tehran.

Helianthus Annuus Çekirdeği Kabuklarında Toryum Sorpsiyonunun Taguchi Metodu Kullanılarak İncelenmesi

Biosorption is an environment-friendly, low-cost and high-efficiency method for removing metals from aqueous solutions. Thorium biosorption on Helianthus annuus core shells was examined in a batch method as a function of initial thorium concentration, contact time, pH and temperature by using Taguchi experimental design technique. The design performed by selecting the L9 orthogonal array matrix and the model of “larger is better” which requires 9 experiment. According to 18 experiment results that obtained by repeating each experiment twice, S/N ratio and ANOVA analysis were performed. The optimum conditions were determined as 100 mg.L -1 initial thorium concentration, contact time was 1 hour, pH 4 and 35°C temperature and optimum intake capacity was 39.86 ± 096 mg.g -1 .

Silicon Carbide Ceramic Particulate Reinforced AA2024 Alloy Composite - Part I: Evaluation of Mechanical and Sliding Tribology Performance

In this research work, a master batch (comprising of AA2024 alloy, Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) and Graphite particulates) was reinforced by Silicon-Carbide (SiC) ceramic particulates (0–6 wt.-%; at steps of 2%; i.e. four composites samples viz. ASC-0; ASC-2; ASC-4; ASC-6) with the aim of enhancing mechanical and sliding tribology performance. The semi-automatic stir-casting fabrication process was followed as per standard industrial practice in-order-to fabricate the sample plates of the said alloy composites as per design. Thereafter, the sample specimens were prepared via wire EDM cutting followed by polishing over emery paper; as per ASTM standard dimensions and various physical (density and void content), mechanical (tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, hardness etc.), sliding tribology performance (steady state sliding wear; ASTM G-99; Pin-on-Disc tribo-meter), thermal (thermal conductivity, Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA)); thermo-mechanical (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)), fracture-analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) etc. characterisation were performed and discussed. In Part-1: Physical, mechanical and sliding tribology performances were discussed. The Taguchi design of experiment technique was employed for designing of experimental runs having input controlling parameters like sliding velocity (0.654–2.616 m/s), sliding distance (784.8–3139.2 m), normal load (5–50 N), reinforcement content (0–6 wt.-%) and environment temperature (20–50 °C). The worn surface morphology studies were performed to understand prevalent wear mechanism using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) along with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) that reveals elemental composition and its dispersion on the surface. In Part-2: evaluation of characterizations like thermal, thermo-mechanical, fracture-analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) etc. were discussed in correlation with mechanical and sliding wear performance. In Part-3: the entire performance data are analysed using hybrid AHP-TOPSIS technique (an MCDM technique; computationally simple and easy to understand) in-order-to rank the composites formulations.

The optimization of effective parameters for electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide through Taguchi method to evaluate the charge transfer

In the present work, the Taguchi experimental design technique, an effective and elegant tool, is employed to design and optimize a system for improving the quality of the products as well as discovering significant factors and optimize the parameters for electrodeposition of graphene oxide, in order to achieve low charge transfer resistance from the minimum number of experiments. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared via electrochemical process. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was employed to evaluate the effects of variables on charge transfer resistance. Graphene oxide concentration, pH, scan rate and number of cycles were chosen as important effective parameters. Charge transfer resistance was minimized by measuring the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of the factors. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also employed to monitor the parameter influence and optimize the process.

Evaluation of Abrasive Wear Resistance of Al2O3/7075 Composite by Taguchi Experimental Design Technique

Two-body abrasive wear resistance of 7075 Al-alloy reinforced with 20 wt% Al2O3 particles has been studied with reference to unreinforced base alloy by design of experimental technique. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array and analysis of variance techniques considering four factors, i.e., load, size of SiC abrasive particle, velocity and sliding distance, each at three different levels, have been employed. The experimental results reveal that wear resistance of composite is far superior than that of the unreinforced base alloy under any given test condition. In general, the most dominating factor is found to be the size of abrasive particle followed by load for both base alloy and composite. The confirmation tests reveal the accuracy level ± 5.52 and ± 6.06% for base alloy and composite, respectively. Mechanism of abrasive wear and the difference of wear response of base alloy and composite are discussed via characterizations of worn surface and generated wear debris.

A study on mechanical behavior and wear performance of a metal–metal Co–30Cr biomedical alloy with different molybdenum addition and optimized using Taguchi experimental design

Molybdenum-added biomedical alloy has been prepared using a high-temperature vertical vacuum casting technique with five (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt%) diverse weight percentages. The density, microhardness, and sliding wear behavior of the fabricated alloys were studied, showing that the addition of molybdenum content in the metal–metal alloy (i.e., Co–30Cr) increases the density from 7.2 to 8.7 g/cc for 0–4 wt% of Mo, respectively. Similarly, the hardness of prepared biomedical alloy also increases from 653 to 720 HV on addition of 0–4 wt% Mo particulate, respectively. The hardness is investigated by the microhardness tester. The aim of this current research work is to optimized the sliding wear behavior of molybdenum-added Co–30Cr alloy for implant material by Taguchi experimental design technique at five different normal loads (5–25 N), sliding velocities (0.26–1.3 m/s), sliding distance (500–2500 m), and reinforcement, i.e., Mo (0–4 wt%) respectively. To obtain the optimum wear response of prepared biomedical alloy added with Mo contents, the Taguchi L25 orthogonal array was implemented. The wear test is performed on a pin-on-disc tribometer against a hardened alloy steel (EN-31) disc under different operating conditions at room temperature. Afterwards, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were utilized to analyze the microstructure, contour of wear mechanism, and 3D surface topography of samples after test run.

Experimental Study on Flow Forming Process and its Numerical Validation

Flow forming is the plastic deformation process and continuously used to produce high precision seamless components for aerospace and defence industries. In this process, a deformable workpiece is placed over rotating mandrel then rotating roller(s) deforming it under contact zone. This process consists of two variants viz. forward and reverses. In forward variant, the roller feed and deformation directions are same but in reverse variant; the roller motion and deformation directions are opposite. Further, it is important to have knowledge about power consumption as well as the formability during the process to establish energy efficient production environment for various material as well as geometrical aspects. The process requires to be optimized in such fashion that the power consumption is minimum but at the same time formability has to be increased to promote energy conservation. With this aim, an experimental study is carried out to investigate effect of process parameters on power consumption, surface roughness and formability. Three levels of three parameters (i.e. rotational speed, axial feed and reduction percentage) have been taken for present study. Taguchi design of experiment technique has been used because it is well developed method to investigate costly and time consuming experiments. Later, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been carried out to find most significant parameter. It was found that speed is the most significant factor affecting the power consumption. Also, surface roughness of the formed components has been significantly affected by axial feed. It has been discerned that all three parameters are significantly affecting formability (percentage elongation). It was also noticed that surface texture of formed part had fish scaling marks at higher rotational speed, higher axial feed and lower reduction. Moreover, numerical analysis (using ABAQUS) has been carried out to validate the results and those were found in good accordance.

Optimizing of Wire EDM Parameters for Damping Capacity of Aluminum Alloy

This paper discusses the use of the Taguchi experimental design technique to find the optimal parameters while machining A356.2 alloy. The effect of WEDM parameters like pulse on time (Ton), pulse off time (Toff) and peak current (IP) on damping capacity of A356.2 alloy was studied and the optimal parameters for the maximum damping capacity were evaluated. Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal arrays under different combinations are used for experimentation. The effect of the parameters such as pulse on time (TON), pulse off time (TOFF) and peak current (IP) is also evaluated using signal to noise (S/N) ratio analysis. Optimum parameters which give maximum damping capacity are obtained. The damping behavior is done using dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA8000) at frequency ranging from 1 to 25 at room temperature and at constant stain amplitude. The scanning electron microscope was used to investigate the morphology on the machined surface and the related mechanisms are explained and presented. From the results, the optimal parameters for maximum damping capacity were found to be (Ton) = 111, pulse off time (Toff) = 57 and peak current (I.P) = 210A.

Parametric study and optimization of multiwalled carbon nanotube filled friction composite materials using taguchi method

In this article, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) filled and lapinus‐Kevlar fiber reinforced friction composite material have been fabricated and characterized for their chemical, physico‐mechanical and tribological properties. The experimental results indicated that the density, hardness, impact energy, tensile, and flexural strengths decreases, whereas compressibility, void, and ash content of the friction composites increases with increase in MWCNT content. Further, Taguchi design of experiment technique was applied to study the tribological properties of the fabricated friction composites by taking four input parameter at‐a‐time such as composition, speed, distance and load, respectively, by using a pin on disc machine. An orthogonal array L16 has been applied to optimize the parameter settings to get performance output such as: coefficient of friction (COF) and specific wear rate (WR). The study reveals that the composition contributes mainly towards COF and WR with contribution ratio (CR) of 55.16 and 30.18% followed by speed with CR of 24.16 and 29.30%, respectively. Finally, confirmation experiment has been performed to verify the experimental results and is strongly correlated with the predicted results. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E1109–E1117. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

Taguchi approach for analyzing the impact of varying degrees of cotton stickiness. Part II: effect on rotor-spun yarn quality

In this paper, the effect of cotton stickiness and the effect of blending sticky with non-sticky cotton in quality of rotor-spun yarn and optimization of spinning process were studied using Taguchi experimental design technique which has recently emerged as a famous statistical approach and ANOVA. In the evaluations, analyses of the signal-to-noise ratio were used. Nine experiments were performed with respect to the L9 orthogonal design for the Taguchi approach. Taguchi Method was utilized to find the sequence of dominant factors contributing to rotor-spun yarn quality. The study revealed that the quality of rotor-spun yarn was not susceptible to stickiness and the dominant factor contributing to the most quality characteristics of rotor-spun yarn was the blending ratio. Results obtained by Taguchi method match closely with ANOVA.

Machining of curved profiles on tungsten carbide-cobalt composite using wire electric discharge process

Tungsten carbide-cobalt composite (WC-Co) is commonly considered a difficult to machine material due to its very high hardness. High strength and wear resistance make WC-Co a preferred material for manufacturing of tools, dies, and molds, etc. All such applications require complex shapes to be machined including curved features. The present study is carried out to evaluate the potential of wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) to fabricate concave and convex curved profiles of different radii in WC-Co. Taguchi design of experiments technique has been employed to investigate the influence of six control variables including open circuit voltage, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, servo voltage, wire tension, and dielectric pressure, on two response characteristics namely radius of concave profile and radius of convex profile. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been performed to identify the significant parameters affecting the performance measures. Regression models have also been developed for both profiles to predict the radii of curved profiles against any combination of machining parameters. It has been observed that machining performance in terms of overcut and undercut depends on the geometry to be machined. However, proposed combinations of machining parameters could effectively reduce undercut/overcut of the profiles to 10 μm. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy has been performed in order to visualize recast layer, micro-cracks, and micro-chipping caused by WEDM process.

Optimization of Drilling Parameters for Reducing the Burr Height in Machining the Silicon Carbide Particle (SiCp) Coated with Multi Wall Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNT) Reinforced in Aluminum Alloy (A 356) Using Meta Modeling Approach

This paper explains the optimization of drilling parameters using meta modeling approach to reduce the burr height while machining Silicon Carbide Particle (SiCp) coated with Multi Wall Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNT) and reinforced in aluminum alloy (A 356). The specimen is prepared by the combination of sonication and stir casting processes. The volume fraction of MWCNT used is 1.5% and the volume fraction of SiCp is 10%. The combination of input parameters for drilling the holes is designed using Taguchi experimental design technique. The input parameters chosen for drilling operations are spindle speed, feed rate and drill diameter. The ranges of input parameters are listed in Table 1. The tools used for drilling operation are made up of solid carbide drill bit. Meta model is a mathematical and statistical model whose second-order model can be fitted by factorial design. The optimization model can be improved significantly by the second-order model compared to the first-order model. Twenty-seven holes are drilled using vertical machining center in the prepared specimen (A 356/MWCNT coated SiCp). Desirability function shows the optimized values of input parameters to obtain minimum burr height. Meta modeling approach is used to design a model using input parameters and output response burr height. The residuals plot shows the predicted values are closer to the measured values. This plot explains that the Meta model is adequately used to predict the burr height. The optimized values of input parameters for obtaining minimum burr height are the combination of high speed, low feed and low drill diameter. The minimum value of burr height observed in this experiment is 0.002mm and it is obtained in the optimized combination of N3, f1 and d1.