Sustainable Grinding Performances of Nano-Sic Reinforced Al Matrix Composites under MQL: An Integrated Box–Behnken Design Coupled with Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) Algorithm

Abstract

The presence of abrasive particles in ceramic reinforced composite materials makes the machining complicated by generating friction at elevated temperatures. Lubricants can be used to prohibit the hazard of higher temperatures. This research work is focused on examining the effects of lubricants on the grinding performances of Al matrix composites reinforced with nano-SiC particles under minimum quantity lubrication (MQL). A cylindrical grinding machine is used to perform the grinding experiments by employing a Box–Behnken design. Multiple performances, such as surface roughness, grinding forces and temperature, are optimized by considering the depth of cut, speed of the workpiece, wheel speed and wt % of nano-SiC using response surface methodology (RSM)-based artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to observe the morphologies of the machined surfaces and the wheel.

Keywords

• grinding
• minimum quantity lubrication
• Box–Behnken design
• artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm
• atomic force microscope
• scanning electron microscopy