Evaluation of geometrical quality characteristics in pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of Kevlar-29/Basalt fiber reinforced hybrid composite using Grey relational analysis based on genetic algorithm

Abstract

In advanced machining techniques, laser beam cutting provides better control over the cut surface geometry in the cutting of fiber reinforced composites compared with conventional machining techniques due to its non-contact and localized processing. However, the performance of laser cutting for hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composites is yet to reveal. It has paved the way of present study, which reports on the pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of 1.35mm thick Kevlar-29 and Basalt fiber based hybrid composite sheet. The geometrical accuracy of the cut has been evaluated by the measured values of kerf width, kerf deviation, and kerf taper for 42 different combinations of five laser-cutting parameters such as lamp current, pulse width, pulse frequency, compressed air pressure and cutting speed. Moreover, an integrated approach based on Grey relational analysis and genetic algorithm (GRGA) has been used for the single index optimizations of different kerf qualities. Furthermore, parametric effects have been also discussed.

Keywords

• nd:yag laser beam cutting
• kevlar fiber
• basalt fiber
• hybrid composite
• kerf quality characteristics
• grey relational analysis based genetic algorithm (grga)