Taguchi Optimization Method Research Articles

Application of Taguchi Method for The Synthesis of Nano-sized TiO2 Powders by Acid-Used Sol-Gel Method

The acid-used sol-gel synthesis of nano-sized titania (TiO 2 ) powders has been studied systematically to optimize the processing parameters by Taguchi method that control crystallite size. In addition, crystallite and particle size of TiO 2 powders were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For this purpose, the amount of acid, reaction temperature and reaction time were determined as control parameters. In order to achieve these objectives, Taguchi’s L 9 orthogonal design (3 parameter, 3 level) was used for the experiential design. Optimal synthesis conditions were described by use of the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio which was calculated from crystallite size of the nano-sized TiO 2 powders using the-smaller-the-better appoachment. Besides, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilised to accomplish the statistical importance of the synthesis parameters. Experiments were fulfilled to verify the model at the chosen conditions and the particle size was determined according to XRD analysis as 46.98 nm. Moreover, the actual size of the synthesised nano-sized TiO 2 powders with the average size of 51.41 nm. Therefore, the Taguchi optimization method was an main tool in the optimisation of the nanosized TiO 2 powders synthesis process with less experiential tests and slightly cost-efficient approachment.

OPTIMIZATION OF NICKEL EXTRACTION FROM LATERITIC ORE IN HYDROCHLORIC ACID SOLUTION WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE BY TAGUCHI METHOD

Taguchi optimization method was used to determine optimum conditions for the extraction of nickel from lateritic ore in hydrochloric acid solution with hydrogen peroxide. Leaching time, stirring speed, temperature, hydrochloric acid concentration and hydrogen peroxide concentration were chosen as parameters. The optimum conditions for dissolution were found as leaching time of 240 min, a temperature of 70°C, hydrochloric acid concentration of 3 M, hydrogen peroxide concentration of 0.1 M and without stirring. The experimental results under optimum leaching conditions, showed that the extraction of nickel from lateritic ore was 90.66%. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to experimental results. Percentage contributions of each factor for the extraction of nickel were determined.

Taguchi optimization of bismuth-telluride based thermoelectric cooler

In the last few decades, considerable effort has been made to enhance the figure-of-merit (ZT) of thermoelectric (TE) materials. However, the performance of commercial TE devices still remains low due to the fact that the module figure-of-merit not only depends on the material ZT, but also on the operating conditions and configuration of TE modules. This study takes into account comprehensive set of parameters to conduct the numerical performance analysis of the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) using a Taguchi optimization method. The Taguchi method is a statistical tool that predicts the optimal performance with a far less number of experimental runs than the conventional experimental techniques. Taguchi results are also compared with the optimized parameters obtained by a full factorial optimization method, which reveals that the Taguchi method provides optimum or near-optimum TEC configuration using only 25 experiments against 3125 experiments needed by the conventional optimization method. This study also shows that the environmental factors such as ambient temperature and cooling coefficient do not significantly affect the optimum geometry and optimum operating temperature of TECs. The optimum TEC configuration for simultaneous optimization of cooling capacity and coefficient of performance is also provided.

Application of Taguchi method in optimization of design parameter for turbocharger vaned diffuser

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the best vaned diffuser design that can generate higher pressure output at a predetermined speed.Design/methodology/approachSeveral vaned diffusers of thin, flat-type design with different number of blades and blade angle were fabricated. The vaned diffusers were fitted inside the turbocharger compressor and test on a cold-flow turbocharger test rig. A Taguchi L27 orthogonal array is selected for analysis of the data. Influence of number of blades, blade angle and rotational speed on output pressure is studied using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Finally, confirmation tests are conducted to validate the experimental results.FindingsThe optimum design parameters of the vaned diffuser using signal-to-noise ratio analysis were six blades type, blade angle of 18° and rotational speed of 70,000 rpm. Results from ANOVA showed that the speed has the highest influence on output pressure. The number of blades and blade angle produced the least effect on the pressure output.Originality/valueThe study used the turbocharger with the impeller size 60 mm and adapted vaned diffuser to increase the output pressure.

Numerical Analysis and Testing of Tungsten Inert Gas Welded T-Joints

Presently arc welded structures are extensively used in automobiles, constructions and power plants. As the main cause of weldment failure is design defect and overload, it is necessary to analyze the maximum stresses in the weldment. This work deals with investigation of welded T-joint by Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process with varying gap and angle between the parent materials to determine the breaking stress under tensile load in the weldment. Finite element analysis is carried out using Ansys software and results are compared with experimental analysis using Taguchi optimization method. Angle, arc force and gap between parent materials are used for the Taguchi optimization technique. The optimized fillet weld section (low carbon steel AISI1020 and copper) is arrived by restricting the weldment failure.

Parametric Optimization of Single Cylinder Diesel Engine for Jatropha Biodiesel and Diesel Blend for Brake Specific Fuel Consumption Using Taguchi Method

An experimental study has been carried out for Jatropha biodiesel blended with diesel used in single cylinder diesel engine. Jatropha biodiesel is obtained from Jatropha oil by tranesterification process. Blending of Jatropha biodiesel with diesel in maximum possible proportion helps to reduce the consumption of diesel fuel. In this study, the effects of parameters' i.e. load, blend proportion and compression ratio are taken as variable for optimization. As the experiment required simultaneously optimization of three parameters with three levels, taguchi method of optimization is used in this experiment. The results of the taguchi experiment identifies that 0% blend ratio, compression ratio 18 and engine load 10kg are optimum parameter setting for lowest bsfc. Engine performance is mostly influenced by engine load and is least influenced by blend ratio. Confirmation experiment was done using optimum combination showed that bsfc was found by experiment is closer to the predicated value.

Application of Taguchi Method for Optimizing of Mechanical Properties of Polystyrene-Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite

Carbon nanotube (CNT) was selected as reinforcement agent to improve the mechanical properties of polystyrene (PS). PS–CNT nanocomposite was prepared by mixing CNT with a solution of PS. Taguchi experimental design method was used to determine the optimal conditions for preparation of the nanocomposite. The effects of six factors including the type of CNT (A), type of solvent (B), type of PS (C), drying temperature of nanocomposite film (D), the percentage of CNT (E) and duration of mixing after adding CNT (F) were investigated at different levels. The tensile strength values of PS-CNT nanocomposite films were used as the responses for the analysis of data using signal to noise (S/N) method. Using this method, the optimum conditions were obtained as: the type of CNT: functionalized single walled CNT (SWCNT), the percentage of SWCNT: 1.5%, the type of solution: tetrahydrofuran, the type of PS: GPPS 1460, drying temperature: 25 °C, duration of mixing: 1 hour. Based on the obtained values, the order of the effect of factors was CEADBF. The most effective and the least effective factors were C and F, respectively. The calculated F-ratio of each factor showed that at 95% confidence interval, the F values for all factors except factor F have significant effects on the response values. Also, the functionalization of the CNTs surfaces by –OH and –COOH groups confirmed by FTIR and SEM techniques.

Optimization of Binder Jetting Using Taguchi Method

Among several additive manufacturing (AM) methods, binder-jetting has undergone a recent advancement in its ability to process metal powders through selective deposition of binders on a powder bed followed by curing, sintering, and infiltration. This study analyzes the impact of various process parameters in binder jetting on mechanical properties of sintered AM metal parts. The Taguchi optimization method has been employed to determine the optimum AM parameters to improve transverse rupture strength (TRS), specifically: binder saturation, layer thickness, roll speed, and feed-to-powder ratio. The effects of the selected process parameters on the TRS performance of sintered SS 316L samples are studied with the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) standard test method. It was found that binder saturation and feed-to-powder ratio were the most critical parameters, which reflects the strong influence of binder powder interaction and density of powder bed on resulting mechanical properties. This article serves as an aid in understanding the optimum process parameters for binder jetting of SS 316L.

Statistical analysis of mechanical properties of vakka fiber reinforced polypropylene composites using Taguchi method

In the present study, Vakka fiber polypropylene (PP) composites fabricated and tested for their mechanical properties. The effect of matrix modification on mechanical properties investigated. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) is added to matrix and the mechanical properties of MAPP Vakka fiber composites were found to increase considerably compared with those of PP composites. Experiments conducted using Taguchi L12 orthogonal array considering the two deign parameters viz. weight fraction of the fiber and treatment. The experimental results were analyzed using Taguchi optimization method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) carried out to obtain the significant values of tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact strength at 95% confidence level.Multiple regression analysis technique is applied to obtain the mathematical model for tensile, flexural and impact strengths.

Optimization of machining parameters to improve the surface quality

The preparation of quality surfaces is very important process in the surface engineering. The surface roughness will influence the quality and effectiveness of the subsequent coatings for protection against corrosion, wear resistance and finishes quality of decorative layers. For these reasons, the authors of the present work have focused in manufacturing parameters that influence the surface quality of hardness metallic materials. In this work, the effects of varying four parameters in the milling process, namely cutting speed, feed rate, radial depth and axial depth. The influence of these parameters on the surface roughness are analyzed individually and also the interaction between some of them for the milling machining of hardened Steel (steel 1.2738), being used the Taguchi optimization method. For this purposed was built a L16 orthogonal array and for each parameter were defined two different levels, corresponding to sixteen experimental tests. From these tests were retrieved sixteen surface roughness measurements The influence of each parameter in surface roughness were then obtained by applying the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to experimental data. It is noted that the minimum roughness measured was 1.05µm. This study also serve to determined the contribution of each machining parameters and their interaction for surface roughness. The results show that the radial cutting depth and the interaction between the radial and axial depth of cut are the most revelevant parameters, being their contributions for the minimization surface roughness about 30% and 24%, respectively.

Optimisation of Injection Moulding Parameter towards Shrinkage and Warpage for Polypropylene-Nanoclay-Gigantochloa Scortechinii Nanocomposites

The setting of suitable parameter's level and values were very crucial in determining the quality characteristic of the injection moulding's product, especially made from advanced polymer nanocomposites. Therefore, this research was proposed to optimise the injection moulding parameters towards the quality characteristics of samples made from polypropylene-nanoclay-Gigantochloa Scortechinii fibers. The quality characteristics that need to be controlled were shrinkage and warpage, and the selected parameters were packing pressure, barrel temperature, screw speed and filling time. The Gigantochloa Scortechinii fibers need to be preheated at 1200C first, and then mixed with polypropylene, polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride and nanoclay through the compounding process by using Brabender Plastograph. The injection moulding process was performed based on the orthogonal array from Taguchi Optimisation Method. According to the results, the value of warpage was reduced when the fiber content was increased from 1wt. % to 3wt. %. The warpage value changed from 0.025mm to 0.009mm. The optimum parameter for warpage were 175°C barrel temperature, 40% packing pressure, 35% screw speed and 2seconds filling time for both 1wt. % and 3% of GS fiber. However, in terms of shrinkage, the increment of fiber content doesn’t have much impact towards the response. The value of shrinkage was reduced but not significantly from 0.0136mm to 0.0134mm when the percentage of fiber was added. The optimum parameter for 1wt. % fiber to control shrinkage are 170°C melt temperature, 35% packing pressure, 30% screw speed and 2seconds of filling time. The findings of this research will be valuable for quality control and references for products made from polypropylene-nanoclay-Gigantochloa Scortechinii fibers.

Optimization ofWear Performance of Castor Oil based Lubricant using Taguchi Technique

Lubricants are used globally in wide range of applications varying from smaller to larger industrial machinery units under differentworking conditions. Lossof toxic lubricants in to the environment during usage owing to mishandling, accidental spillages, leaks, evaporation and other miscellaneous reasons hasresulted in rising environmental concerns. Escalating crude oil prices have further aggravated the problem to renew interest in development and usage of alternative resourceswhich are environmental friendly and acceptable.Owing to certain inherent technical properties and their ability towards biodegradability; vegetable oils possess potential as alternatives to reduce dependency on mineral oil for lubricant formulations. In present investigation, wear performance of castor oil based lubricant has been examined for low speed applications.The experimental testswere carried on the basis of Taguchi’s L16orthogonal array considering the influence of prominent variable operating factors load, speed and blending ratio. Using Taguchi optimization method, optimum combination of these three factors have been reported.Wear performance of castor oil based lubricant in varying blending ratio viz; tribological poperties like coefficient of friction and wear scarhave been analyzed in four ball testing machine through experimental design prepared by Taguchi technique.

Optimal design of permanent magnet linear synchronous motors based on Taguchi method

This study focuses on optimisation design of permanent magnet linear synchronous motors that are applied in laser engraving machines with no cutting force. Traditional analytical optimisation method based on magnetic field with particle swarm optimisation algorithm was introduced to obtain the best combination of motor structure parameters. By contrast, the novel optimisation design method - Taguchi method based on orthogonal array was proposed to optimise the thrust and thrust ripple. After the design of experiments using finite-element analysis, the relative importance of each design parameter was estimated in detail. Experimental results of prototype can certify the superiority and validity of Taguchi optimisation method.

Experimental Investigation and Analysis of Process Parameters in Abrasive Jet Machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using Taguchi Method

Titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy gained a significant importance because of owing to its light weight, corrosive resistant and high strength properties even at low to moderate temperatures. Basically, this titanium alloy is employed in fabricating medical device applications, aircraft industry, aerospace fasteners, high-performance automotive parts, marine applications, and sports equipment. It is difficult to machine a hole in Titanium alloy using conventional machining process. Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM) process under un-conventional machining process is one such solution which provides the solution for machining of holes on Ti-6Al-4V composite material. In the present paper, an effort has been made to optimize machining parameters employed during drilling on Ti-6Al-4V composite material using Abrasive Jet Machining. The influence of the various process parameters, i.e. pressure, nozzle diameter and stand-off distance on the predominant machining criteria on the metal removal rate (MRR) was studied. In this work, repeated number of experiments was carried out as per the Taguchi experimental design (L27 3 levels, 3 factors). The settings of the process parameters were determined by using Taguchi’s experimental design method. Orthogonal arrays of Taguchi, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to find the optimal process parameter levels and to analyze the effect of these parameters on metal removal rate values and the quality of the hole. Confirmation test with the optimal levels of machining parameters was carried out in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the Taguchi optimization method.

Drilling studies on the prepared aluminum metal matrix composite from wet grinder stone dust particles

Abstract The demand for high-performance and cost-effective composite materials is gaining attention in today’s competitive world. In this work, an attempt has been made to prepare low-cost reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite by reinforcing 10% and 20% weight fractions of wet grinder stone dust (WSD) particles, an industrial waste produced during stone dressing operation in the wet grinder manufacturing industry. As drilling is one of the major machining operations carried out in industries, the prepared composite materials are subjected to drilling studies using carbide, TiN-coated carbide, and HSS drills of 5 mm diameter under dry conditions. The major concern with the machining of composites is the extreme tool wear. Tool wear is a very important and challenging task for manufacturing engineers because it has adverse affects on the product quality and increases the production cost. Hence, there is a need to identify the factors that have most significant influence on the tool wear. In this work, the Taguchi-based design of experiments and analysis of variance were used to determine the optimal cutting parameters and to analyze their effects on thrust force, torque, and tool wear. Multivariable linear regression analysis was also employed to determine the correlations between the factors and the response, namely, thrust force, torque, and tool wear. Finally, a confirmation test was conducted to validate the Taguchi optimization method. From the experimental results, feed rate was identified as the dominant factor influencing the thrust force and spindle speed was identified as the significant factor influencing the torque. Thrust force, torque, and tool wear were found to increase with the increase in the reinforcement content irrespective of the drill used for the investigation.

Laser Composite Surfacing of Ni-WC Coating on AA5083 for Enhancing Tribomechanical Properties

ABSTRACTLaser composite surfacing (LCS) has emerged as an alternative photon-driven manufacturing technology for the fabrication of composite coatings to enhance the tribomechanical properties of various aluminum alloys. The current research presents an analysis on optimization of laser processing parameters for Ni-WC composite coating deposited on AA5083 aluminum alloy in order to improve its tribomechanical properties. To carry out the investigation, Taguchi's optimization method using a standard L16 (34) orthogonal array was employed. Thereafter, the results were analyzed using signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio response analysis and Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA). Finally, confirmation tests with the best parameter combinations obtained in the optimization process were made to demonstrate the progress made. Results showed that the surface hardness (953 Hv) and roughness (0.81 μm) of coated AA5083 samples was enhanced by 9.27 and 13.14%, respectively. The tribological behavior of LCS samples was investigated using a ball-on-plate tribometer against a counterbody of 440c steel. It was revealed that the wear of the Ni-WC-coated samples improved by around 2.5 times. For lower applied loads, the coating exhibited an abrasive wear mode and a reduction in plastic deformation.

Multi-objective optimisation of dynamic scheduling in robotic flexible assembly cells via fuzzy-based Taguchi approach

This paper presents Taguchi method coupled with fuzzy logic for dealing with multi-objective optimisation problems for dynamic scheduling in robotic flexible assembly cells (RFACs). This is the first study to address these particular problems. In this study, Taguchi optimisation method has been applied to reduce the number of experiments required for scheduling RFACs. The experiments are implemented with four different scheduling factors, namely sequencing rule, dispatching rule, cell utilisation and due date tightness. These factors are difficult to optimise considering the objectives of multiple functions instead of a single objective. Therefore, a multiple performance characteristics index (MPCI) based fuzzy logic approach has been developed to derive the optimal solution. The predicted results of MPCIs have been verified via a confirmation test. Results of the confirmation test show significant improvement in MPCI using the optimal levels of the scheduling factors.

Optimization of Query Processing Time using Taguchi Method for RFID Data Management

Background: RFID technology is being adopted by a number of applications including supply chain management. Due to the adoption of RFID technology challenging problems have appeared. The RFID database system handles huge amounts of path oriented, time dependent data. Methods: This paper focuses on minimizing the query processing time by using Taguchi optimization method. Simulations show how the factors considered impact RFID data processing efficiency. Findings: So the effectiveness of the system depends on the factors such as the number of tags accessed at a time, the data preprocessing techniques adopted, and selection of suitable indexing techniques and so on. However, few of the techniques adopted by existing methods focus on the efficiency of RFID data processing. Applications/Improvements: Taguchi method is applied to predict the best design combinations that achieve minimum query processing time.

Taguchi Optimization Approach for Three-Dimensional Nanofluid Natural Convection in a Transformable Enclosure

In the present study, the Taguchi method was performed in assessing the maximum heat transfer rate for natural convection of a nanofluid in an enclosure with an adjustable wall. The simulations were planned based on the Taguchi L25 orthogonal array. The experiments were performed under different positions of the top and bottom walls of the cavity and particle volume fraction of the nanofluid. The thermal lattice Boltzmann method based on D3Q19 methods was employed to simulate the flow and thermal fields. A signal-to-noise ratio analysis was carried out in order to determine the effects of the process parameters and the optimal factor settings. The present results demonstrated great reliability of the Taguchi method in optimization of the thermal system.

Določanje zmogljivosti rezalnih orodij na močno legiranem belem litem železu (Ni-Hard 4) z uporabo Taguchi metode

High-alloyed white-cast-iron materials are commonly used in the manufacturing industry due to their high wear resistance. The aim of this research is to determine the cutting tool and the optimum cutting conditions required for the metal cutting of these materials. In this study, it is proposed to determine the wear and the tool life utilizing the Taguchi optimization method when hard turning the Ni-Hard 4 material, the alloyed cast iron, with cutting tools produced with powder metallurgy (PM) and to improve the performance of the cutting tools. A series of 18 experiments were conducted on a CNC turning machine, using the cutting process parameters such as the cutting speed, the feed and the depth of cut, based on the Taguchi L9 orthogonal design of experiments. Uncoated cutting tools were utilized to perform these experiments. PM cutting tools with WC grain sizes of 0.8 μm and 1.25 μm were selected for the hard-turning experiments. The flank wear of the cutting tools was examined with SEM. Then, the life of each cutting tool was identified based on the cutting length. The performance of the cutting tools in terms of the wear and the tool life was determined with the Taguchi method based on the obtained data. The results of this study contributed to the hard turning of the Ni-Hard 4 material that is mostly employed in the as-cast condition in the manufacturing industry due to its high hardness. The optimum cutting conditions were determined by means of the Taguchi method.