In this study, an attempt is made to investigate how the operational parameters such as capacitance, voltage, feed rate, and rotating speed affect the material removal rate, tool wear, overcut, and taper angle for micro-EDM drilling of aluminium 6061...

This work aims to analyze the wear properties of the hybrid aluminum metal matrix composites (HAMMCs) using finite element analysis (FEA). A dry sliding linear reciprocating wear mechanism is analyzed using ANSYS 19.1. Aluminum 7075 alloy and HAMMC reinforced with ZrB₂ (1, 3, and 5 wt.%) and fly ash (2 wt.%) is taken as sample material. A steel ball (EN 52100) is utilized as a counterpart in the dry sliding wear properties study. The deformation of the steel ball during the wear process is assumed to be negligible. Under various circumstances, a 3D point-to-surface connection is built to analyze the dry sliding wear process. The wear depth, contact pressure, and wear volume are analyzed using FEA. The analytical results are compared with the experimental results with the help of ANSYS to analyze the process parameters. The ANOVA analysis is employed for optimization, which exhibits that the load had the most significant impact on the material’s wear rate, followed by the material’s composition and temperature. The wear depth, wear rate, and contact pressure at optimum input parameters for the HAMMCs are 0.47 μm, 11.31 × 10⁻⁶ mm³ Nm⁻¹, and 0.33 MPa, respectively. The Simulated results support the experimental results, and the average error is 9.82%.

This research explores the microstructural, mechanical and wear characteristics of hybrid aluminum metal matrix composites (HAMMCs). Initially ZrB₂ is fabricated by melt reaction and then fly ash incorporated into the aluminum composite melt as secondary reinforcements to fabricate HAMMCs through the ultrasonic agitated stir casting method. Micrographic and phase analysis of the HAMMCs and base alloy is conducted x-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Energy-Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). A wear test was conducted to study the wear properties of alloy and hybrid composite material. The generated wear scar was analyzed using a profilometer to find the wear rate. The tensile strength and hardness of the hybrid aluminum metal matrix composites (HAMMCs) improved remarkably as compared to base alloy. The wear resistance of the fabricated composite also increases on increasing the in situ ZrB₂ up to 3 weight fractions.

Modularization is one of the key strategies for increasing responsiveness to customers. In modular product architecture a wide variety of product configurations can be generated by altering a limited number of modules and components. Product modules are identified by grouping highly coupled components in the same module. A Design Structure Matrix (DSM) is a compact presentation of the interaction between the components. In this paper, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based methodology is proposed for the clustering of highly coupled DSM components in modules. Multi-criteria DSMs are proposed, which are aggregated by using weights generated by AHP. A genetic algorithm is designed to change the order of components in DSM and to bring highly coupled interactions near the diagonal. An illustrative case study is also made to validate the proposed algorithm. Two large sized and two small size modules are identified by selecting high density clusters around the diagonal. The clustered DSM also shows independent components and loose coupling between the two modules.